


Reckless Encounters

by BekkaChaos



Series: Dangerous Liaisons [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Pack Feels, Scisaac - Freeform, Supernatural Elements, sterek
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-04-08 22:50:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 118,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4323810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BekkaChaos/pseuds/BekkaChaos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a new year and a new life for the kids from Beacon Hills, only they're not really kids anymore. This year is about college and travelling and moving out (or in) and learning who they are outside of high school. Stiles has been accepted into college and has to move out of Beacon County, but he and Derek are determined to keep things going and make their relationship work. With the pack all spread out you would think that maybe trouble would stop seeking them out, but something is brewing and maybe this year won't be a fresh start, maybe there's still something out there to be afraid of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_Six Months on…_

 

Beacon Hills had become a somewhat lonely town. The number who remained was far outnumbered by those who had left.

                For one reason or another they had separated, gone off on their own to new friends and new pastures. It was time, school was finished and graduation was long over. This was when their lives started after all.

                The only two left in the same place were Erica and Derek, though that sounds far more ominous than it really is. The two may have had their – substantial – differences, but somehow being the only two members of the pack unchanged in Beacon Hills they had put that aside. They had grown closer in the absence of the others and the feeling of having something missing that swam around deep inside them was dulled when they spent their time together.

Every few weeks Derek would travel to Berkeley to be with Stiles, too long without him made Derek impossible to get on with. Sometimes he would take Erica with him because he almost felt bad at leaving her alone and he knew that she and Stiles were close friends but even she knew that Derek and Stiles needed their time alone.

Stiles loved his time at college, and sometimes it was almost enough to keep his mind off that terrible ache in his gut whenever he thought about Derek or his father or Scott and Isaac. He hated to admit it but he was even beginning to miss _Jackson_ of all people. His course was wonderful and his roommate was interesting to say the least but it’s true that home is where the heart is.

Scott and Isaac found a community college in Beacon County where they could come back whenever they felt homesick and otherwise lived in a small two bedroom flat that they bought with the money Isaac had been left from the sale of his father’s house. Seeing as neither of them really knew what they wanted to do, community college was the best option, and the cheapest considering.

The two had been through hell the year before, and while they’d made their way through it all relatively unscathed. A few things still remained sore points for them, but the strength of their affections for one another made it easy to bounce back into a state of blissfully happy couple, especially take the step to move in to a place together.

At first Stiles had thought their lovey-dovey Instagram snaps had been a nice reminder of home and of his friends, but after a while he got sick of seeing their faces and the pictures of their shared home and the fact that they were actually living with one another.

They were the two who stayed closest to home; Jackson had by far gone the furthest. He and Danny had fulfilled a childhood plan of travelling and had gone to London together. That was their first stop, but there were many more after and still more to come. Danny and Ethan still kept in touch, even though he and Aiden had gone back to their home town. Beacon Hills held too many bad memories in such a small space.

Jackson and Lydia hadn’t quite done the same. They agreed that it was time for them to be apart – whether they end up together again or not – so neither of them had called or even sent a simple text. For all intents and purposes… it was over.

Lydia had done exactly what she had said, Harvard accepted her almost as soon as they received her application. Someone as naturally clever as her was bound to be worthy of their training. It helped that she was close to New York and could use retail therapy to stop herself from talking to Jackson. She used Stiles a lot when she didn’t want anyone to know that she still sometimes cried about it, and Stiles never said a word to anyone.

Allison had gone just as far as Jackson, travelling with her father to Paris to seek out some of their family history. Both of them had needed to get away for a while, they only had each other and reconnecting as a father and daughter on the trip of a lifetime was the perfect way to escape Beacon Hills and the painful memories that lived there, if only for a short period of time.

Boyd never gave up on the idea that Daisy was still out there somewhere, he had taken time out to look for her before he did anything else. Erica had tried to convince him to stay but it was something he felt he needed to do. So he followed her wispy trail of smoke from Beacon Hills, and was currently on his way to Portland.

While most of them were gone, Beacon Hills was still the point of return, the place where their hearts really did lie. Though none of them expected to be back any time soon, there was something in the air that would hit them all between the eyes, like a bullet, like a freight train, like a bucket of ice water thrown in their faces to wake them from the thin veil of what reality could have been like had their lives been even slightly normal. It was something that would call them all home, like a beacon, and the strange occurrences were just the start of what was to come.


	2. Chapter One: A New Year

“No, push in the clutch and then put it in drive,” Derek said as Erica stalled the car for the third time.

“ _Ugh!_ ” she groaned, “This looks a hell of a lot easier than it is.”

“You’ll get it,” he said calmly.

“I know I said I wanted to get my licence but I’m almost regretting it,” she said as she got the car started up again.

“You’ll be fine, as long as you focus.”

She sighed and took off slowly, driving back to the loft with barely a hitch. She parked in Derek’s spot and they got out, heading back up to the flat. She tossed him the keys and he smiled a little.

“So you’re going up to see Stiles tonight?” she asked.

“That’s the plan,” he said. “You sure you don’t want to come this time? It’ll give you a long drive to practice.”

She shook her head. “I came up the last two times and I basically just feel like a burden when I do, you guys need your time.”

“The offer still stands,” Derek said.

“It’s okay, I’ll give this one a miss. I still have to figure out what I’m going to do with the rest of my miserable existence anyway,” she shrugged.

“You could start by getting a job, something simple, easy. Or you could go to a community college like Scott and Isaac.”

“Like I have the money for that,” she scoffed.

“If you want to, just ask,” he said and she rolled her eyes.

“I’m not going to take your charity Derek.”

“It’s not charity,” he said as they headed inside and towards the kitchen.

“Shut up, it is too charity. I’ll go looking for a job tomorrow with my totally empty resume.”

“You’ll be fine,” Derek said and Erica gave him a warm smile as he handed her a glass of water.

He downed his own glass and walked around the bench to head upstairs.

“You mind if I―” Erica began.

“Stay as long as you want Erica,” Derek called back before disappearing out of sight.

She smiled to herself. She would always ask him if she could stay, even though she had basically taken over Isaac’s old room anyway.

There was at least half a closet full of her clothes, make up was a permanent fixture in the bathroom and the place always smelled of her perfume. Derek didn’t seem to mind.

Erica walked into the bedroom and pulled out her phone, dialling Stiles’ number and putting the phone to her ear as she collapsed into the duvet.

“Erica? What’s up?” he said after the first four rings.

“Not much, just getting sick to death of driving lessons,” she said and heard him chuckle down the line.

“Oh come on, I thought you were about to go take your test?”

“Not if I stall the damn thing at every set of lights,” she said. “Whatever, Derek said he’s coming to see you tonight, has it really been two weeks?”

“Take it from a person who hasn’t had sex in that long, yes, it’s been two weeks,” he said and she rolled her eyes.

“It’s gone by in a flash and you know it,” she said.

“Does that mean you’re getting some then?”

“I’m fairly self-sufficient Stiles.”

“I did not need to know that,” he said and she laughed.

“Yeah well, you know what they say, you want a job done right, do it yourself,” she said.

“In my experience that is _not_ the case,” he said. “Can I call you later? I’m about to meet Kyle for lunch before our lecture.”

“Sure, have fun.”

“Always do,” he said, hanging up the phone and shoving it down into his pocket.

It had been a big adjustment not seeing Derek every day, having to settle for once every two weeks was verging on painful. It was hard enough not seeing Scott or Erica or his dad, but there was just something about speaking to Derek every night that made the ache in him even greater when he had to fall asleep alone.

Needless to say he couldn’t wait for him to come and visit this weekend.

“Hey, where the hell have you been?” he looked up to see Kyle walking over, book in his hand and his arms stretched to the sides.

“I have been exactly here,” Stiles said, getting up from his spot on the bench. “You’re the one who’s late as per usual.”

Kyle shrugged with his normal grin, “I guess you’re right.”

Kyle was Stiles’ roommate, the two shared a small dorm room to the south of campus and he had become Stiles’ closest friend at Berkeley. While he had few others there was something about Kyle that had just clicked, not to mention they shared an interest in anthropology and mythology.

“What’s new then? I mean since I saw you this morning,” he said and Stiles shrugged.

“Not a lot, just counting down the days until Derek gets here. It’s one by the way, one day, not _even_ , it’s one _half_ day,” he said and Kyle laughed.

“I’m still sceptical as to whether this guy really exists,” he said. “I never see him when he comes down here, and you don’t even have a picture of the guy.”

“Hey, he doesn’t photograph well, okay?” he said, thinking of every picture he’s ever tried to take of Derek and the way his eyes light up like a fault in the camera lens.

“So you say,” he said.

“Is it my fault that when he comes down here we just want to spend the weekend alone in a hotel room or you know, generally away from campus?”

“If I had a boyfriend who was going to pay for my hotel room for the weekend I wouldn’t leave it either,” he said with a flirty flick of his eyebrows. “Then again, with you gone I can entertain in the dorm room so it’s really win-win.”

“Oh, like me being in the dorm room has ever stopped you before,” Stiles said, giving him a look and Kyle let out a loud snort.

“You never make that bed of yours, how am I supposed to know when a pile of sheets is just that or when you’re curled up under them?” he said. “I mean short of checking every time I come in with someone – which is slightly creepy – what other option do I have?”

“All I’m saying is that you’re a terrible person and you should feel bad.”

“Hurry up, I’m hungry,” he said, clapping Stiles on the shoulder.

He only had one class on a Friday afternoon and then he was free for the weekend and this weekend was one to forget about his study and focus entirely on Derek.

He always booked them in to a hotel when he came down. The last place he wanted to be was in a dorm room. Not that it surprised Stiles all that much.

It was a reasonably long drive for Derek but he never even seemed to be affected by it all that much, then again he rarely seemed to be affected by much at all.

When he was on his way he sent Stiles a message and he would pack himself up and head over to the hotel of the week. Whenever he was leaving for the weekend and leaving Erica behind he would also send a message to Isaac to check in on her on one of the days he was gone.

Especially weeks like this one where the lonely feeling was starting to get to her.it wasn’t good for werewolves to be alone. They’re pack animals and even though part of them was human the part of them that wasn’t would pine for those who weren’t close by.

Isaac didn’t have a problem with it. Erica did, she would yell at the both of them for babying her and for treating her like some fragile little bird who had fallen from the nest. Only they weren’t worried that she had fallen, it was more that the other baby birds had flown free and she was still trying to get her wings working.

It was late afternoon when Isaac got the text, he was sitting on the couch reading when his phone buzzed from the coffee table beside him.

As he read the words on the screen he heard Scott pull into the driveway on his motorcycle and he couldn’t help the smile that spread over his lips. He had been at work at the clinic while taking some classes in biology and health down at the community college.

He didn’t know where he wanted to take his studies, but as he was beginning to realise that he understood less and less about himself and the way his body worked he found that he was increasingly interested in biological sciences. It helped greatly that Deaton was there beside him at work and willing to teach him even more that his studies could ever do.

“Hey, you’re home early,” Isaac said, looking up over the back of the couch.

“Last patient came in about an hour ago, Deaton was just giving me a hand with one of those questions I was having an issue with,” he said, dropping his bag on the floor by the bench.

“You figure it out?”

“I think so,” he said, walking over with a grin.

He leant over the couch and smiled as Isaac leant into him for a kiss.

“I’m going to shower, I smell like wet dog,” he said, grabbing his shirt from the back of his shoulders and pulling it over his head.

Isaac snapped his book shut.

“Well, technically a shower isn’t really going to fix that,” he said and Scott turned around with a smile playing at his lips.

“Really?” he asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

“Like I’ve said before, I promised Stiles I wouldn’t skimp on the sass while he’s away,” he said and Scott rolled his eyes.

“Stop doing things that Stiles tells you to do,” he said as he turned into the hallway.

Isaac laughed to himself as he heard Scott turning on the shower taps.

“Hey you think we should invite Erica over tomorrow night?” he called, stretching out his overly-long limbs.

“Derek leaving her behind this time?” he called back.

“Yeah, apparently,” he said. “Movie night?”

“So she can talk the whole way through again?”

“Oh come on, that was a terrible movie and her commentary actually makes it more amusing,” he said.

Scott didn’t say much so Isaac got up and pushed the bathroom door open a little wider.

“Is that a no?”

“I’m pretty sure she hates it when we pity-ask her to things,” he said and Isaac watched him through the tempered glass.

“It’s not a pity ask, I told you, I like her movie commentary.”

“Yeah but Derek asked you to keep tabs on her to make sure she’s okay, _that’s_ what she hates.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Isaac said.

He watched Scott a few moments more, admiring the way each part of him moved, the way the water glided over his smooth brown skin. His hair stuck to the sides of his face and made his ears stick out and Isaac couldn’t help but smile.

As Scott reached around his body with the soap in his hand Isaac’s smile became a grin.

“Do you need a hand in there?” he asked and Scott turned around with narrowed eyes and a twitch of his lips that he couldn’t hide.

“I was wondering how long you were going to stand there staring at me,” he said.

Isaac laughed as he stripped out of his clothes and Scott just rolled his eyes as he quickly hopped in beside him.

 

Derek usually sent Stiles a message when he was on his way. Nothing over the top, just the name of the hotel they’d be staying in and that he was leaving.

That gave Stiles plenty of time to get there and settle himself in before Derek showed up.

Derek never picked fancy hotels, granted, they were nice but they were never extravagant. Stiles thought that Derek wouldn’t know what to do with himself in a place like that, besides, the hotels he chose served their purpose more than adequately.

Stiles lay on the bed reading through one of his text books as he waited, flicking through the pages and trying to take it all in. He thoroughly enjoyed his anthropology classes, and though he often frustrated the lecturer with his questions and vigorous debate he knew his education was better for it.

Of course he wasn’t getting anywhere with his study because he was checking his phone every few minutes for the time and he was even more restless than usual.

Finally, after what seemed like a few hours wait he heard the knock on the door and grinned as he leapt off the bed.

He was never quite sure why Derek knocked, there was always a key left for him at reception but for one reason or another the knock always came.

He wrenched the door open to see Derek standing there, perfect as he was.

He had his bag slung over his shoulder and a warm smile on his unshaven face. He looked strangely casual in his well-fitting t-shirt and jeans but as with everything else, it suited him.

“Finally,” Stiles said as he grabbed him by the arm and dragged him in.

He shut the door behind him and Derek dropped his bag to the floor, his hands instantly reaching for Stiles’ face and waist as he pushed him back against the wall.

Stiles’ mouth opened as he let Derek pull him in for a kiss and he couldn’t have stopped the sound that came from him even if he’d bothered to try. His hips arched and he held Derek into him even tighter.

Derek pulled his lips back a moment and Stiles took a much needed breath.

“Your heart is beating too fast,” Derek said and Stiles just tried to close the non-existent gap between them.

“I wonder why that is Derek? I can’t think of one reason why my heart might be pounding,” he said and Derek rolled his eyes.

Stiles dragged his hand up and over Derek’s chest and tangled his hand in his hair, pulling their lips together again and groaning as Derek’s hips pressed forward and against the heat already growing in his pants.

“You don’t want to go for dinner?” Derek asked, licking his lips as he stared down at him.

“Derek, I know your werewolf stomach needs more food than the usual non-wolfy person but I have a very tight sex schedule that I’d like to stick to so maybe you could think with another organ for at least ten minutes?” he said quickly and Derek laughed with an eyebrow shooting high up on his forehead.

“A sex schedule?” he said.

“Yeah, and if you’d shut up for a minute you’d figure out that it’ll probably benefit the both of us,” he said.

“Guess I can’t argue with that,” he said, grabbing Stiles tighter and pushing him towards the well-made double bed.

As he pushed him back down Stiles wriggled out of his shirt and began frantically unbuckling his belt as Derek stood above him doing the same, staring down at him with a heated gaze that made every inch of him throb.

“God, I’ve missed you…” Stiles said as Derek climbed over him, trailing wet kisses up over his stomach as he did.

“At least you didn’t start without me this time,” Derek purred against his neck.

“ _One time_ that happened and you won’t let me forget it,” he said, tilting his head to let Derek suck a small mark into his tender skin.

“Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it,” he said with a smirk.

“I’d say I didn’t miss your arrogance but that would be a total lie,” he said, nails dragging down Derek’s back.

Derek’s mouth finally found his again and Stiles let his tongue graze the rim of his upper lip, barely tracing his teeth before delving in deeper.

He had imagined what Derek tasted like, tried to keep it in his mind after the last time they had kissed and remember what it felt like.

His stubble was rough against his cheeks and the soft pink of his lips felt exactly the way that he’d imagined even before he’d had the chance to try it. His skin prickled with warmth, his temperature always running higher than average and the feel of his bare body searing into him was exactly what he’d been craving for the two weeks since he’d seen him.

“Hang on…” he panted, managing to pull his lips away and rolling over so he could crawl to where his backpack sat by the edge of the bed.

Derek watched him move and growled a little as he did.

Stiles turned back with a little grin as he tossed Derek the bottle.

“You’re always prepared aren’t you?” he said.

“Shut up and get on with it before one of us explodes,” he said, wriggling back but not rolling off of his stomach.

Derek opened the cap on the bottle, rubbing the liquid over his fingers and reaching down to Stiles’ hips. He propped himself up on his knees willingly and as Derek ran his fingers over his tight entrance he closed his eyes at the sound of Stiles’ elicit moans.

“ _Holy fucking fuck_ ,” he breathed. “Come on Derek I am literally about to beg just… _come on_ …”

Derek was in no mood to tease him, he urged one finger inside and bit down on his lip as he pushed back against him. He was used to it now, the gentle stretch of one finger. Two still felt tight but it was never enough for him.

He would claim that he wanted to make sure he was ready, that his laboured inch-by-inch approach was all for his benefit, but both of them knew that Derek loved to hear him ask for it. He loved to hear the string of nonsensical words that would fall from Stiles’ mouth when he wanted nothing more than to have Derek inside him.

“ _Derek more_ … please just _come on_ …” he said, the beads of sweat on his forehead making his hair damp and the eager pleading look in his eyes made Derek’s glow crimson.

Stiles closed his eyes with a light chuckle and a grin, turning his head to hand between his shoulders as Derek pulled out his fingers and poured some more of the cool liquid into his hand.

It was only a moment before Stiles felt the smooth head of Derek’s cock brushing his entrance. Then came the nonsensical words he had been expecting and the sound of his pleasured groans as Derek slowly urged inside him were just exquisite.

Stiles was always impatient, pushing himself back, trying to take him all at once but Derek knew he had to be patient. It had been two weeks since they had been able to do this and though Derek was under no illusions that Stiles hadn’t been keeping himself entertained in that respect he was in no way prepared to hurt him for the sake of his urgency.

Besides, once he was pressing his hips against Stiles, rolling them slowly, he could address that urgency properly.

He let both of his hands slide to Stiles’ hips, holding him steady as he let go of some of his control.

Stiles’ fingers gripped the sheets and he let out moan after moan with each thrust of Derek’s hips, thinking about how much he had missed the feel of it.

Derek leant over him, pressing their bodies together and reaching down to wrap his fingers around Stiles’ solid cock. Stiles cussed and arched his back a little more, changing the angle and making Derek bite down on his lip.

His pace quickened and Stiles kept moaning over and over for him to keep going, it didn’t matter, there was nothing that could stop Derek from getting them both over the edge.

“ _Oh fuck_ … yeah Derek, yes, _yes_ …” Stiles moaned as his body began to tighten and he heard the pleasured growl from Derek brush past his ear and that was it.

Derek closed his eyes and pressed his face to the Side of Stiles’ as he chased down his orgasm and let out breathy moans in Stiles’ ear that made his skin tingle and buzz as he was engulfed in his own high.

He managed to keep himself held above him until the last wave washed over him and he was able to roll onto his back and throw his head into the pillows at the head of the bed.

Stiles rolled over too, looking over at Derek with an elated grin.

“I seriously missed you so much,” he said and Derek shook his head.

“Apparently,” he said and Stiles slapped at him lightly.

“Oh come on, just face it,” he said and Derek looked over at him. “You missed me a hell of a lot too.”

Derek just reached down to grab Stiles’ hand and closed his eyes. They took a moment to recover before Stiles was rolling onto his side and just staring over at his boyfriend.

“Do you have to do that?” Derek asked, eyes still closed.

“Oh I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to look at you?”

“You’re staring, I hate staring.”

“You like it when I stare.”

“No, I tolerate it,” he said. “I don’t _like_ it.”

“Ah Derek, don’t ever change,” Stiles said. “I’ve missed how grouchy you always are.”

He just let out a groan and Stiles grinned.

There was silence for a moment before Derek looked over at Stiles with an eyebrow raised.

“So,” he said and Stiles looked over. “This sex schedule…”

Stiles grinned to himself and shrugged.

“Well we’ve already finished the first part, the frantic ‘need-you-now’ sex that comes after not seeing each other for six weeks―”

“ _Two_ weeks Stiles,” Derek said with a shake of his head.

“It’s all the same, it might as well be six weeks,” he said. “But anyway after that comes the hard and slow missionary sex, you know, all about sensory reception and just needing to be in contact with one another.”

“You thought about this way too much,” Derek said.

“And I’m not even finished yet, next comes… well I’m tossing up between sex in the shower or taking a bath together, we’ll make that decision when we come to it I guess so maybe you should think about it. Then of course there’s the hours of talking and lazy foreplay, which I know you’re a fan of, and in the morning there’ll be none of that half-assed morning sex we used to have when we had time, no. seeing as you won’t be rough with me I’m going to be rough with you and _believe_ me do I have some plans for that.”

“Is that all?” Derek asked with an amused smile on his lips.

“That’s all for the next twelve hours. I mean we’ll probably need to eat at some point but the schedule comes first Derek, it’s not really optional.”

Derek shook his head again but nothing could shake the smile from Stiles’ face.

“You know now that I think about it we’re coming in close to the next item on the schedule,” he said.

“How about we order room service and _then_ we move on to your schedule,” Derek said. “And don’t make a joke about service.”

“You’re no fun.”

So they agreed to order room service, which took far too long to arrive in Stiles’ opinion. He talked to Derek about his classes and how college was going and when he thought he would come back to Beacon Hills, he still had a few things to do before the semester was over.

So they ate their food and picked up the schedule where they had left off.

Stiles had once tried to figure out what kind of sex he liked best, there had been graph work and everything, but everything had something different to it that he loved.

In this case it was easy to know what that was.

Derek lay atop him, fingers tangled with his and hips moving in slow thrusts that sent sparks all through Stiles’ body. His forehead was pressed against his and his mouth was parted to let through his laboured breaths.

Stiles had his legs apart with Derek’s body between them and his free hand plastered to the back of Derek’s neck. The two were basically sharing the one breath but by far the thing about this that Stiles missed the most was the way Derek would periodically open his eyes to look at him, lips brushing his skin and the faintest whisper of his voice in its most vulnerable state.

The hotel had a decent sized bath and Stiles was eager to give it a try. Derek just scowled at him and jumped into the shower instead.

Stiles had made the argument that he hadn’t had a bath since he’d figured out that Scott and Isaac had taken one in his bathroom back at the loft and Derek had just said ‘maybe over his shoulder as he stood under the hot water.

Eventually he managed to convince him.

Whenever Stiles said something cliché or gave Derek one of his looks Derek would just growl at him.

They sat in the tub, Stiles leaning against Derek’s side, eyes quietly closing as Derek ran his fingers through his damp hair. Derek tilted his head to the side and kissed his temple.

“Has it really been two weeks?” Stiles asked. “God, has it really been nearly a whole semester?”

“You say that every two weeks Stiles,” Derek said.

“I know but… I can’t believe it,” he said. “Have you heard much from Boyd?”

“He’s on his way to Portland,” he said. “He’s doing okay.”

“That’s it? That’s all you know? Come on, has he found anything? Is he on any kind of trail?”

“Why don’t you ask Erica this kind of stuff?”

“Uh, because you didn’t bring her this time and I don’t think this bath is built for three,” Derek growled again and Stiles laughed to himself. “Relax tough guy I’m kidding.”

“I don’t ask him what he doesn’t tell me Stiles,” he said. “I check in to see if he needs anything and I let him do what he needs to.”

“You miss having them all around don’t you?”

Derek just sighed and didn’t say anything.

It was hard not having all the members of his pack around, but he’d felt the pain of losing a pack before and this was nothing compared to that, so he wouldn’t complain about it.

“Well, Jackson’s having good fun. Danny posts a lot of stuff online from their trip. I mean Jackson’s ruined plenty of photos by looking into the damn camera, but otherwise they seem to be enjoying their partying and sun tanning and you know, all the rest of the perks of travelling.”

“That’s good,” Derek said.

“Allison’s pretty photogenic though, she kind of makes Paris look like crap,” he said. “Anyone’d be happy with her bone structure.”

Derek didn’t say anything and Stiles just rolled his eyes.

“Not so talkative are you?”

“Am I ever?”

“True, but you could at least pretend you want to hear about them.”

Derek sighed, “Sorry.”

“Derek don’t―” Stiles sighed. “New rule, this is the no arguments tub. Also no complaining tub, you want to do that you get out in the cold.”

“Stiles that―”

“I sense an argument or a complaint!”

Derek grumbled to himself and flicked a little water at Stiles’ face.

“Real mature,” he said.

Derek smiled. “So how’s your roommate?”

“Who Kyle? He’s fine, same as always. He thinks you’re a figment of my imagination though,” he said. “It’s not my fault I can’t get a front-on picture of you.”

“It _is_ your fault that you haven’t introduced us,” Derek said.

“Yeah but when you come down here, even if Erica comes too, I just want to spend time with you guys, you know? It’s weird not having you all there all the time,” he said. “It’s weird not having Scott there, we basically haven’t been apart since we were kids.”

“Isaac said they want to come and visit,” Derek said.

“I’ll come back soon, when I get a break from study and exams and all the rest of it,” he sighed.

Derek held him a little tighter and they were silent a moment.

“How’s Lydia then?” Derek asked and Stiles just scoffed.

“Oh come on, you don’t really want to know,” he said and then yelped when Derek gave him a pinch.

“Not trying to start an argument are you,” he said and Stiles laughed.

“Don’t take my things and use them against me,” he said. “And Lydia’s… well, Lydia’s pretty good. She’s a genius and she knows it, and New York is kind of exactly her thing.”

“And the other thing?” Derek asked.

“The Banshee thing?” he asked and Derek nodded.

They had told her not long after prom and they were still working on figuring out exactly what that was and what kind of things she could do. Unfortunately, there were so many different myths and stories there didn’t seem to be a single one that fit.

Not to mention they knew very little about what she could do. She tried to stay unfazed about it but Stiles knew that it worried her, that not knowing what she was really capable of made her nervous.

“I send her some stuff every now and then, you know, things I can find out about it and things that might help,” he said. “But she’s Lydia and she’s stubborn, I think she prefers to live in denial about the whole thing than actually face up to it and try and learn about it.”

“You can’t force people to study things Stiles.”

“I know but don’t you think it would be easier if she just read some of my research into what―”

Derek silenced him with a rough kiss to his mouth and Stiles slipped a little as Derek’s shoulder came out from behind him.

“Stop over-thinking. If she wants your help, she’ll ask,” he said, getting up to grab a towel as he stepped out of the tub.

“I guess,” he said, watching Derek until he threw a spare towel at his face.

“Out,” he said.

“So bossy tonight,” Stiles grinned.

Derek shook his head and walked back into the main bedroom.

Once Stiles had dried off he followed him in, climbing into bed beside him.

“So, hear any more from your favourite uncle?” he asked. “You know we should really start calling him Scar, you know, from the Lion King.”

“It’s bad enough that you and Isaac call him that,” Derek said.

“Oh come on, it’s hilarious.”

“He’s been sending postcards,” Derek said with a furrow in his brow.

“What? From where?” he asked.

“Nowhere in particular, just generic postcards,” he said. “I think he’s still keeping his distance since the warehouse incident.”

“You still think he was up to something?”

“He doesn’t get himself involved in anything if there’s nothing in it for him,” he said.

“Postcards…” Stiles muttered. “The man has a deranged sense of humour.”

“Some might say that about you too,” Derek said.

“Mine is mischievous and or impish, I haven’t quite made it to ‘deranged’ just yet,” he said.

“You’re still young,” Derek said as he closed his eyes.

Stiles laughed and settled in beside him.

As he leant against Derek’s warm side he listened for the sound of his heartbeat, the familiar ‘thump-thump’ from within his chest and he sighed.

“Have I told you how much I missed you?” he asked quietly.

“You always do Stiles,” Derek said.

He liked the way his name sounded on his tongue and he liked the feel and smell of him. He always finds his scent to linger at least a few days on his clothes once he heads back to Beacon Hills but there was nothing as comforting as having Stiles in his arms.

That way he knew he was safe, could hear the contentment in his gentle breaths and each time they parted ways it became harder and harder to leave.

Sometimes he wondered if a change in scenery would be such a terrible thing after all.


	3. Chapter Two: New Pastures

Jackson woke up to the sound of Danny’s alarm, far too early for his liking.

“Turn it off!” he yelled, not moving from his spot in the hotel bed.

Danny sat up in his bed on the other side of the room and looked over at him, squinting in the sharp morning sunlight coming through the cracks in the curtains.

“Don’t blame me because you’re not a morning person,” he said.

“It’s too early Danny,” he growled.

“Hey, I had to camp out in the bathroom last night when you brought that Italian girl over,” he said.

“Not my problem,” he grumbled, face still buried in the pillow.

“I guess not,” Danny said, getting up and stretching before heading to the bathroom. “I was only in there for about ten minutes anyway!”

Jackson responded by throwing one of his pillows at him as he laughed and shut the door behind him.

They were currently in Greece, partying it up in the prime of their lives, like they were supposed to do.

So far they’d been through most of Western Europe and there was still more to go, Jackson definitely wasn’t ready to go back home to America.

Because he was Jackson there was no staying in hostels and backpackers, it was hotels all the way, and Danny didn’t seem to mind it too much either.

He sat up in the pristine white sheets, perhaps a little less pristine on this particular morning, and stretched out. While Danny didn’t complain about the nightlife he also wanted to see everything the places had to offer. Jackson liked the sun and tanning and the generous portion sizes when they went out for food.

“So…” Danny said as he walked out of the bathroom. “Are you going to complain about all the walking again today?”

“You can see the streets from the beach,” he said. “I don’t know why you need to walk through them.”

“You don’t understand anything about culture, do you?” he said with a grin.

“It’s not that I don’t understand it’s that I―”

“Don’t care, I know,” Danny said. “Anyone would think you were still trying to get over―”

“If you bring that up one more time I swear I’m going to punch you, and believe me, it’ll hurt.”

Danny shook his head with a smile.

“I know, you’ve threatened me with your werewolf strength before.”

Jackson groaned. “Do you always have to bring _that_ up?”

“It doesn’t get any less weird that your best friend is a werewolf, you get that right? Don’t get me wrong it’s pretty cool but you know… still weird.”

It’s not like it took Danny a whole lot of time to figure out what was going on in his home town. He knew the rumours of wild animals, the legends. He knew about the strange things that happened in Beacon Hills and it didn’t take too long to open his mind to the things that no one else thought possible.

He had suspected it long before the night at the loft when Stiles thought it would be funny to mention werewolves in jest and at first he had thought that maybe he just knew the stories too. It didn’t take long after that to realise that maybe it all just made sense.

Besides, it was more fun to believe in things than it was to deny that any of them could possibly exist.

‘By the way, tonight it’s your turn to camp out in the bathroom,” he said, searching in his bag for a clean shirt.

“I don’t think so, why don’t you just do the guy in the bathroom?” Jackson said.

“You know, you just get grumpier and grumpier the more places we go,” he said. “I’d tell you what I think about that but you’ve told me repeatedly not to approach that topic.”

Jackson gave him another glare because it was blatantly obvious that Danny was doing as much as he could to avoid mentioning Lydia’s name.

It was true that Jackson missed her, but what she had said at prom was right. There was no use denying that they both had different ideas about how their lives would go and there was no point in either of them giving up the things they wanted for one another. It wouldn’t have made them happy.

As different as they were they both had very similar coping mechanisms.

 

Lydia sat at her dressing table in her small New York apartment as she applied her makeup, staring back at herself in the mirror.

In its reflection she could see the tall brunette from the night before pulling his shirt back over his head.

“So uh, last night was pretty fun,” he said, looking over at her.

“Uh huh,” she said without a look in his direction.

He shuffled in his place a little, clearing his throat and running a hand through his hair. She rolled her eyes a little and turned in her chair.

“Here’s how this is going to go,” she said sweetly. “I’m about to go to the bathroom, and when I come back you should be gone. Nothing personal.”

He scoffed a little with a smile and just nodded.

She stood up and gave him a quick flutter of her eyes before she walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. After a few moments she heard the apartment door close and she let out a sigh.

She looked over at her reflection and just stared at it a moment.

It hadn’t quite been the same since she’d found out what she really was.

She looked the same, perhaps a little older than before but that was hardly notable. Somehow there was something different about that reflection even if she couldn’t figure out what it was.

She tried to pretend that things had been normal, that the supernatural or strange occurrences didn’t follow her across the country but the more she tried to ignore them the more they happened.

She could hear things that no one else could, there were some spots that she would walk over that would make her body freeze and her breath leave her body, she would see things that others wouldn’t and sometimes she couldn’t tell what was real anymore.

Some of the things she saw were almost believable. She wondered if she saw them because of what she was or whether she was just losing her mind, and some days that would almost make her give up on pretending that she was okay.

But she always kept going and when Stiles emailed her more and more files on Banshees, no matter how vague they were, she would always read them, even if she told him she didn’t have time for it.

She hadn’t told anyone about the things that she could feel or see. Somehow she didn’t think it would help.

She turned back to the door and opened it, walking out into the apartment and feeling a shudder run through her.

She straightened up as she walked into the room, her breath cutting short when she saw the figure on the seat at the dresser.

Lydia looked into its eyes and tried to decipher them, but it was as difficult to do as it had been in the bathroom mirror.

“If you’ve been here the whole time then you’re getting more and more intruding every day,” she said, not moving from her spot by the bathroom door.

The figure turned its head to the side with a smile, dimpled cheeks flushed with colour.

“Typical,” she said, swallowing quickly and trying to stop her heart from pounding.

“What can you hear Lydia?” the figure said quietly, the voice so familiar and yet it sounded different when it wasn’t on her lips.

She tried so hard to block out the whispers that seemed to follow her. Every time the figure showed up it would ask her the same thing.

It was no wonder she couldn’t recognise her own reflection when her mirror image followed her, standing in an exact replica of her own skin.

“Stop following me,” she whispered back.

“What can you _hear_?” the figure repeated.

“Why should I tell you anything?” Lydia said.

“I’m here to help you Lydia,” the figure said, its lips the same Relentlessly Red as her own. “You need to listen.”

“And you need to go,” she said again and the figure stood, walking up to her and staring into her eyes as though searching them for something.

It was just what Lydia had been doing moments earlier in the mirror.

“Listen,” the figure said, walking around until it stood behind her and Lydia’s eyes closed. “ _Listen_.”

Her eyes shot open at the sound of its voice and the way it had changed. Her head snapped to the side to see Jackson’s looking back at her and she stepped away from him.

“If you’re trying to help me you’re not doing a very good job of it,” she said through her teeth.

“That’s because you won’t listen.”

Lydia flinched as her phone started ringing from the bedside table. She looked away from the figure and stormed towards it, hands shaking as she tried to answer it.

“Hello?” she said.

“Where are you?” she heard come through the line.

Lydia turned back to see her room empty but still she couldn’t get the chilling feeling off her skin.

“The lecture’s about to start, you’re never late!” her friend said.

“Yeah,” she said. “I uh, just got tied up with something.”

“Well tell me about it when you get here, come on Lyds!”

She hung up and looked around the room, the whispers starting to come back and she just closed her eyes tight and tried to drown them out.

“I am _not_ listening!” she said to herself, grabbing her bag and leaving before they started to become clearer.

 

 

Stiles woke up later than usual, enjoying the feel of waking up next to Derek. He was always overly warm and slightly pinned to the bed but there was no feeling better.

He smiled to himself and urged himself back into Derek’s warm figure. Derek stirred a little, his grip tightening around Stiles’ waist.

“Morning,” Stiles mumbled sleepily and Derek grunted in reply.

He chuckled a little, eyebrow forming an arch as he shifted his hips a little suggestively.

Derek’s lips were by Stiles’ ear and he nuzzled into him gently.

“You know…” Stiles said. “I think we slept a little later than we should have.”

“Interrupting your schedule?” Derek said with a smirk and lowered his lips down to the crease in Stiles’ neck.

“Are we done making fun of me for that now?” Stiles asked, turning his head to face him.

“Obviously not.”

“So… you fully awake yet?” he asked and Derek chuckled.

“Does that ever matter to you?”

Stiles rolled over to face him, making Derek flinch back to avoid an elbow to the nose.

“You’re a danger, you know that?” he said and Stiles laughed, locking their legs together and pulling Derek in for a kiss.

“Yeah but you know you like to live life on the wild side,” he said with a smirk and Derek just pushed back to glare at him. “What? Come on Derek you just make it too easy.”

Derek raised an eyebrow and rolled so that he was pinning Stiles to the bed.

“Just stop talking,” he said, kissing Stiles’ collar bone before slowly lowering himself down.

“You know that’s usually not possible,” he said, fingers reaching into Derek’s hair as his lips trailed down over his torso.

He sighed breathily and closed his eyes as Derek’s stubble brushed against the smooth unblemished skin under his hip bones. He felt his teeth graze over him and it was like nothing else existed outside that hotel room.

“I can’t believe one day’s almost gone already,” he said, tongue wetting his bottom lip. “I mean not really, but I just want time to stop, you know? It goes too fast and then the rest of the week―”

“ _Stiles_ ,” Derek hissed, looking up at him and flashing his red eyes. “Shut up.”

“Got it,” Stiles said with a nod before Derek’s lips were moving on to more important tasks and Stiles was dropping his head back down onto the pillow.

He said so often that this was what he missed most when Derek wasn’t there, the sex, the physical intimacy, but he said it mostly so that Derek wouldn’t complain about him being too emotional.

There was only so much emotional intimacy Derek could withstand before he needed a break. Stiles wondered whether he would have been different if everything to do with his family had never happened, but there was no way of knowing.

And he didn’t have too much of a problem with it either, he knew what Derek was like and if he wasn’t like that then he wouldn’t be who he is. It’s just that sometimes he wished that he could tell him some of the non-sexual things about him that he loved without it resulting in being growled at, literally.

Still, he loved Derek for everything that makes him who he is, and sometimes in spite of it. He was sure that there were things about him that Derek didn’t like, but that was heading down a track that he just didn’t want to walk.

By the time midday came around they were both ready for food so they made their way to one of the campus restaurants that Stiles liked.

“So, fill me in,” Stiles said as they sat at a table waiting for their food. “How’s Scott going with his course?”

Derek looked up with a shrug, “Fine.”

“That’s it? That’s it – _fine_?” he asked and Derek shrugged again. “You had two weeks to get all the information for me and you come back with _fine_?”

“You say that like you sent me back there just to collate gossip for you,” he said.

“Well what else do you have to do?”

Derek lifted an eyebrow.

“Okay, you’re busy with important werewolf things, my bad,” he said.

“Why don’t you ask Scott how he’s doing?” Derek asked.

“I do it’s just―” he sighed and slumped back in his chair. “Between his study and mine and the distance and all the rest of it we just don’t get the chance to talk much anymore. It’s not like either of us are too worried about the friendship or anything, it’s just that we haven’t spent this much time apart since we became friends. I miss talking to him you know?”

“I know Stiles,” Derek said quietly.

“I mean not in-depth conversations or anything like that just stupid shit that we used to talk about,” he said. “I miss bitching at him to watch Star Wars.”

“Isaac told me that you lent him your box set before you left,” Derek said.

“Yeah and I _know_ those two assholes haven’t watched it yet, you have to make them watch it Derek it’s driving me crazy,” he said.

Derek couldn’t help but stifle his smile at the look on Stiles’ face.

“I mean it Derek, I’m missing out on forcing Scott to do the important things in life,” he said.

“I see.”

“I know you think I’m being ridiculous about it all but that’s the kind of stupid shit that I miss,” he said. “You think you’re going to miss the parties or the big events but you miss everything else so much more. You know what I miss? I miss the way Erica smacks me on the back of the head when she thinks I’m being an idiot. I seriously miss Boyd’s comments when we make a plan and he thinks it’s stupid, I mean they were just gold.”

“Semester’s nearly over,” Derek said. “You’ll be back in Beacon Hills before you know it, unless you’re going to spring break with the rest of your classmates.”

“You trying to get information out of me, huh?” he said with a smile. “No, I’m not going to go on spring break, I will be the loser coming home to get beaten at chess by his dad.”

“Still can’t beat him?”

“Even online he just beats me, you’d think I would be able to find a way to cheat or something but the old man is just too good,” he said and Derek smiled. “Speaking of, he said you go over there for dinner at least once a week.”

Derek shook his head and looked away. “You wanted me to keep an eye on him.”

“Hey, don’t get defensive, I think it’s sweet.”

Derek glared at him and folded his arms which made Stiles laugh.

“You have seriously been the biggest Sourwolf ever on this trip,” he grinned. “Also please tell me my dad has stopped going through old case files with his ‘it all makes sense now’ hat on?”

“He has a lot of questions,” Derek said, trying to use it as his excuse for going over there so many nights. “He’s learning, slowly.”

“Okay but if you find him down at the station at three am again because he thinks he’s made some huge breakthrough please talk him down,” Stiles said.

“You can see the similarities between the two of you right?” Derek asked. “You asking me to stop _him_ from staying up all night reading into the supernatural?”

“Yes, I know, the irony is not lost on me Derek.”

“Good, just making sure.”

Stiles sighed. “Man, I didn’t realise how hungry I was.”

Derek shook his head a little and tapped his leg with his foot under the table. “I’m sure you’ll survive.”

“Yeah well, I’ve survived worse than a little hunger,” he said with a grin.

 

 

Boyd hopped out off the back of the truck and waved to the driver as a thanks. He was a little way out of Portland, by the Tyron Creek State Park in Oregon.

He’d been catching rides with people or making his way from place to place by bus.

It had taken him a while to finally make the decision to go looking for Daisy and some days he felt further away from her than he’d ever been, but he couldn’t just keep going when he didn’t know what had happened to her.

Some days he almost thought he could pick up her scent, but she was as in the wind as ever. He was going by tips he picked up along the way, however sparse they may have been.

Some places it was harder to get any information than others but he made do. He’d even spoken to wolf packs that he had come across along the way. Some of them were friendly, others were cautious to have a lone wolf in their territory.

It didn’t take long to realise that some were wilder than others, those were the ones he moved away from quickly.

He had loose contact with Ethan and Aiden, though he still wasn’t sure about the two of them they helped if they heard anything and he kept them updated on anything he found out.

Sadly, there was nothing much to tell on either front.

He hiked up the trail on the side of the road, glad to be getting some fresh air. He’d lived in America his whole life and seen so little of the country. At least if he was no closer to finding out where Daisy went he was out seeing something new.

He carried a picture in his backpack that Aiden had given him, it was one of Daisy before she was turned and while she was a fair bit younger in the photo it was enough to show to people who might have been able to help him find her.

He looked up at the cloudless sky and over the trees that glowed in the afternoon sun and he smiled.

Somewhere out there he’d find her.

 

 

Weekends were the only days that both Isaac and Scott could sleep in, and they definitely made the most of it.

The ceiling fan was always on in the bedroom of their small home, what with their werewolf temperatures being unusually high.

Isaac stared up at it, eyes focusing on it as a whole and then on the individual blades as Scott snored beside him. He smiled as he listened to the rhythm of it, annoying as it was.

He slapped him lightly on the arm and Scott grunted, rolling over to face away from him. He rolled his eyes with a grin as he looked over at him, nudging him with his foot until he heard him yelp as he slipped from the bed.

Isaac put his hands behind his head and grinned up at the fan while Scott knelt next to the bed with his hair sticking up in all directions.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“You realise your snoring could wake up the whole street?” he asked.

“And _that’s_ a reason to kick me off the bed?”

“Well, that and it woke you up didn’t it?”

Scott scowled up at him. “Seriously though, that was the third time this week.”

“And seriously, your snoring is really getting out of control,” he smiled. “Get back up here.”

“Why should I when you’ll probably just kick me out again,” Scott said and Isaac laughed.

“Trust me Scott, I would never kick you out of bed while you were awake,” he winked, reaching out for his hand. “Get up here.”

Scott rolled his eyes with a smile and climbed back in beside him, leaning in to kiss him. Isaac grabbed his arm and pulled him in closer, their bare chests brushing against one another as Isaac let his hand trail down over Scott’s side.

Scott smirked between their lips. “Now I see why you wanted me awake…”

“Not complaining are you?” Isaac asked, pulling Scott further over so that he was straddling his waist.

“Not about this,” he said, giving his hips a little roll. “But you should be careful you don’t injure me when you push me off the bed.”

Isaac laughed a little and let his lips wander to Scott’s neck. “You must be more fragile than I thought.”

He grazed his teeth over the muscle line, gently swiping his tongue over him before his lips were sucking a mark into his skin and his teeth were only adding to it. Scot let out a groan and let him have better access to his neck.

As Isaac pulled his lips back to admire the dark purple mark on his skin he watched it fade away just as quickly as he had put it there.

“Nope, you look about as healthy as ever,” he said with a grin.

“You think so?”

Isaac nodded and moaned against his lips in a long drawn out agreement before Scott was propping himself up a little so he could reach between them and wrap his hand around Isaac’s already hard cock.

“Enough proof for you?” Isaac said with a smirk.

“Stop being so―” Scott said and then cut himself off.

“Were you about to say stop being so _cocky_?” Isaac grinned.

“Shut up,” Scott said, twisting his hand a little and making Isaac’s eyelids flutter. “Or I’ll stop.”

Isaac grinned and grabbed Scott’s wrists. “I’ve heard that before…”

He sat up and pulled Scott down into him so that he was straddling his lap, kissing him again. He dragged his nails over Scott’s back and down to cup his ass, making Scott moan against his open mouth.

“We don’t have anything to do today right?” Isaac asked, lifting his hips a little.

“You were going to meet Erica…” Scott said, trying to reach the top draw without disentangling from Isaac.

“She’ll understand… she can wait…” he said.

Scott finally grabbed the bottle he had been looking for and poured a little on his hand before wrapping his fingers around Isaac’s length again. Isaac leant his head against Scott’s shoulder at the feel of Scott’s hand gliding easily over him.

Scott went to climb off him but Isaac held him firmly above him, reaching around him a little further to brush against his tight entrance with his finger.

“Come on,” he said quietly. “It’s been a while since we’ve done it like this…”

“You’re too ambitious you know that? I’m just happy to get some,” Scott said, moving to give Isaac more space to move his fingers.

He laughed and grabbed the bottle from Scott, lips brushing his neck and nuzzling him a little.

“I know,” he said. “You have your moments though…”

Scott let out a low groan as Isaac urged his fingers inside him.

He ran his hands up Isaac’s sides and then up into his hair, taking a tight grip as his fingers worked him open in the way he liked. He bit down on his lip and after indulging a moment he shoved Isaac back so he was lying on the bed again with Scott hovering over him.

“Guess I do,” he said with a smirk on his crooked jaw.

Isaac’s hands reached out to stroke his knees as Scott lifted his hips to line up with Isaac’s waiting cock. As he slowly eased himself down Isaac struggled not to buck his up and into him, instead his nails dragged down Scott’s leg.

He watched as Scott’s jaw dropped a little and he let out a soft groan before he was lifting his hips and dropping them down again with an even louder moan falling from his lips. Isaac waited for him to adjust a little more and when he felt Scott pick up the pace he began to move his hips with him.

He couldn’t have counted the number of times they had been together, the number of nights and mornings they had been with one another like this but it still felt like new. They still felt that heat, that spark between their touch that made them feel like what they had was more than just young love.

Isaac reached for Scott’s hips and pulled him down into him and held him there, making Scott let out a pleasured yelp. He sat up and wrapped an arm around his, leaning his other arm back on the bed as their sweaty bodies came together and moved almost asone.

They had never been perfect, that much was obvious but it was moments like these where they felt like maybe they could be.

Isaac bit down on his lip, feeling Scott reach between them to pump his cock a few times before he felt him tightening around him and he was on the brink of letting himself go. He leant his forehead against Scott’s shoulder and let his mouth drop open with a breathy grunt and groan.

He leant there a moment, one of Scott’s hands brushing back a curl from his damp forehead before they were pulling themselves apart and lying back in the sheets with satisfaction on their faces.

“See… that’s what I miss when you have those long days,” Isaac said, chest heaving as he looked over to Scott by his side.

“I know, you keep telling me,” he said with a grin.

Isaac reached over to take Scott’s hand, pulling it up to his full red lips.

“So, you finally have a day off today?” he asked.

“Yeah, for now. Probably have some study to do though,” he said.

“Well I told Erica I’d go with her to look for a job so I guess you should study when I do that then,” he grinned.

“What is she looking for?” Scott asked.

“Anything, so long as she’s not bored out of her brains doing nothing.”

“You realise she’ll just be bored out of her brains but getting paid for it, right?” he asked.

Isaac chuckled, “Isn’t that just what a job is?”

“Like you’d know,” Scott teased.

“Well that was rude, want to shower?” he asked, finally recovered enough to sit and get up off the bed.

“Yeah, give me a minute,” he said.

“No,” Isaac said, walking around to the other side of the bed and leaning down to kiss Scott on the mouth. “Come on.”

He slapped him on the thigh and Scott just rolled his eyes as he obliged.

 

 

Derek wasn’t the biggest fan of PDA and neither was Stiles when it came down to it, but when it had been as long as it had Stiles cared very little about hiding his affections.

Derek just looked like an uncomfortable introvert – albeit a grumpy one – dragged out onto campus when it was the last place he wanted to be.

“Oh come on, I have never even shown you around this place,” Stiles said, consciously trying to dial down his affectionate actions at the look on Derek’s face. “Just one quick tour and we’ll go back to the nice hotel and christen the new sheets.”

“So you’ve said,” he raised an eyebrow.

“Relax, you’ve been to a college before right? I mean it’s not like you have _never_ been to one before right?” he grinned.

“I’ve been to one before Stiles,” he said dryly.

“Alright, okay… grumpy sour―” he was cut off when Derek kicked at his foot.

Being the clumsy person that he is, Stiles completely lost his footing and Derek was forced to grab him to try and hold him up. When that failed them they both toppled down onto the grass and Derek held himself above Stiles who was just laughing.

“Well _that_ was uncalled for,” he said.

“It’s not my fault you can’t keep your feet on the ground,” Derek grumbled.

“Technically my feet are still on the ground, it’s just the rest of me that shouldn’t be,” he said.

“”Stiles you―”

“Hey, hey, come on now, keep it behind closed doors.”

They both looked up and Derek rolled to his side, getting quickly to his feet. Stiles laughed and rolled his eyes.

“Only you would walk over at that _exact_ moment,” Stiles said, getting up off the ground and shaking his head at Kyle who stood beside them.

“Yeah well, now we’re even,” he grinned.

“No, we will never be even,” Stiles said. But at least now maybe you’ll believe me, Derek, this is Kyle. He’s my dorm mate.”

Kyle gave him a smile, head tilting to the side a little as he held out his hand.

“Nice to finally meet you,” he said as Derek took his hand to shake it. “I was starting to think you were just some fantasy he made up.”

They held their shake a moment, eyes locking and Derek’s face not changing until their hands dropped.

“Still could be, depending on what he’s told you.”

Kyle laughed and hitched his backpack up over his shoulder.

“I guess he did make you sound a little extraordinary,” he said.

“Okay, you both suck,” Stiles said.

“Yeah, yeah, hey, I’ll catch you on Monday when you’re back from your little getaway,” he said. “It was good to finally meet you Derek, we’ll all have to go out for a drink next time or something.”

“Nice to meet you too,” he said and Kyle waved as he headed off.

“You want to be any weirder?” Stiles asked, looking over at Derek with a smile.

“What?”

“Nothing, you guys just had a weird moment is all,” he shrugged.

“I think you hit your head on the way down Stiles.”

“Yeah, whatever,” he said. “Let’s go back to the hotel and we can play doctor if it makes you feel any better.”

“You never stop, do you?”

“I try Derek, I try,” he said, leaning over and aiming for a kiss on Derek’s cheek but he turned his head, cupping his cheek in his hands as he kissed him on the mouth.

He gave Stiles a playful flick of his eyebrows before nudging him in the direction of their hotel. He wasn’t about to play doctor but there were plenty of other things they could do to pass the time.


	4. Chaptr Three: Continuance

**_Chapter Three:_ ** _Continuance_

Erica leant against one of the pillars downstairs from the loft, foot tapping impatiently.

It had been hard to deal with at the beginning, being alone, and then it had gotten a little better. Now that she’d had time to adjust it was driving her crazy.

Derek sometimes seemed like he was trying to be a friend, but he was twice as awkward as anyone else she had ever met and she knew he was no good as a one on one companion. The only person left when she didn’t head up to meet Stiles was Isaac.

The two of them had a somewhat love-hate relationship. They bickered like brother and sister but they knew that they would both be loyal to a fault with one another. Still, they irritated each other to no end when they did spend time together.

When she finally smelt his familiar scent she rolled her eyes and made a loud tutting sound with her tongue.

“Jesus, didn’t think it would take you _that_ long to get out of bed in the morning,” she said as she saw him approaching.

“Well it’s a little harder when there’s someone else in there with you,” he said.

“Uh huh,” she said with a raised eyebrow and her eyes darting to his jeans for a moment.

“Keep your mind out of the gutter,” he said. “ _And_ my bedroom.”

“Please, don’t flatter yourself,” she said. “Are we going or what?”

“ _Yes_ ,” he said. “I’m here to do this, you think I have nothing better to do?”

“Wow, thanks _so much_ for that Isaac,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

He almost felt bad for that last comment. He’d probably feel worse if he wasn’t sure Erica would come back with something twice as bad later on in the day.

They headed out to the main stretch of town, not too far a walk from the loft.

“You heard a lot from Boyd?” Isaac asked as they walked.

Erica shrugged.

“A little, he’s just outside Portland at the moment. I think he’s on some kind of trail but who knows.”

“You kind of wishing you went with him?” Isaac asked.

Boyd had asked Erica if she wanted to go with him and she had declined. It wasn’t because she didn’t think it could be fun, but more because she was afraid of all the things that she still feared – that she was only invited because everyone was worried she wouldn’t be able to cope by herself.

She sometimes wondered how they came to that conclusion about her. She had spent the majority of her life alone, no friends and not much of a family for support. Being alone had once been her sanctuary, the place where she didn’t have to hear what everyone said about her.

And it wasn’t the solidarity that bothered her anyway, it was that she had no idea where her path was leading. She was stuck staring at the road while everyone else had already run ahead on their own.

She lifted her shoulders a little, “Not really, I’d probably just complain.”

“I can believe that,” Isaac said as they neared the main street. “So what kind of job are you _actually_ looking for?”

“Anything I suppose,” she said. “I don’t know, I went from having absolutely no job prospects to having the pick of the lot, well, except all the really intellectual stuff. God knows I’m not exactly the brightest person in the world.”

Isaac felt a little pang of guilt as she spoke. It must have been hard for her in the life she had before she was turned. She tried to act so confident now but it was easy to see through that mask when she made her self-depreciating jokes.

She could pretend she was joking all she wanted but it didn’t take a whole lot of noticing to realise they were the things she really did believe about herself.

“I’m sure you’ll find something mildly amusing to pass the time,” he said and she just shrugged again. “You know, until you figure out what you want to do.”

“Derek says I should go travelling, like Jackson and Allison,” she said.

“But you don’t listen to Derek,” Isaac said as half a question and half a statement of fact.

“Not if I can help it,” she said. “I mean it’s not like he said ‘as your alpha I’m telling you that you have to go travelling and have fun’, how annoying would that be?”

Isaac didn’t say anything to that, he just thought about the hold that Derek had over them as the alpha. He thought about the things that Derek had asked of him and the things he had to keep quiet, even when every other instinct in him was telling him not to.

“He ever do that to you?” Isaac asked curiously.

“What? Tell me what to do as an alpha?” he nodded and she shrugged. “Not really, not unless it’s really important. I mean, I trust him so I have to believe that when he does it’s for a good reason.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

He wasn’t so sure, but he was too far in to believe anything else.

“Come on then, let’s get this shit over with,” she said as they headed up the street.

 

 

Derek and Stiles lay in bed, Derek holding himself above him with a hand cupping the back of his head and their lips pressed tightly together.

Stiles ran his fingers up and down Derek’s sides, letting out contented sighs with each swipe of Derek’s tongue against his own.

Derek pulled his lips back, looking down at him affectionately and Stiles just smiled, blinking lazily.

“Have I ever told you how good you look with your hair all over the place like that?” he said.

Derek raised an eyebrow.

“I think you’re delirious Stiles,” he said as he dipped his head down to kiss just below his ear.

Stiles hummed in appreciation.

“And you aren’t?” he said. “I’m completely offended.”

“You sound it,” Derek said, lips sucking softly on his soft skin.

“I am, is sex with me not as delirium-inducing as it should be?” he said and Derek just sighed against his neck and continued to kiss him. “Okay in all seriousness now, it is good right? Like, better than average?”

Derek rolled his eyes as he pushed himself up and shook his head down at Stiles.

“You do this every time we’re in bed together, you know that don’t you?” he said.

“Not _every_ time,” he said. “Besides, you never answer me. Just like you never answer me when I ask other questions.”

Derek grunted and continued to just stare down at him.

“Whether I’m any good in bed, whether you want to try anything new, whether you’ve slept with another guy before and obviously how many―”

“You ask too many questions,” Derek said as he rolled onto his back.

“Oh come on, it’s only fair. You know how many people I’ve slept with,” he said and Derek turned to look at him with an expression partially of amusement and partly annoyance. “Yes, okay so that’s a pretty short list,” Derek opened his mouth to say something but Stiles put a finger to his lips. “And yes, I know the word list is probably not applicable but still, you still know mine.”

“You don’t _need_ to know mine,” he said.

“Maybe not but you know what I’m like, I have to know and you’re probably going to have to tell me at some point or it’s going to drive you crazy,” he said.

“You already drive me crazy,” Derek grumbled and Stiles just smiled.

“I mean come on it can’t be _that_ many can it?”

Derek put a hand to his face and protested again.

“Have you ever been in another serious relationship?”

“This is serious is it?”

“Well that one stung a little,” Stiles said and Derek sighed.

“You’re a headache, you know that?” Stiles just dropped his head to the pillow and looked over at him.

Derek rolled onto his side and reached out to put a hand to his cheek.

“I’m just curious is all,” he said quietly. “Sometimes I forget that you’re like six years older than me. Feels like there’s still a whole lot I don’t know.”

“Isn’t what you know enough?” Derek asked with a little more softness to his voice.

“No,” he said as his cheeks flushed and Derek brushed the hair behind his ears. “I don’t… I don’t think I could ever know _enough_ about you.”

“I do,” Derek said and Stiles thought he heard more in his words than he meant to let slip.

“What are you so afraid of Derek?” he said softly and Derek’s eyes turned away.

“You’re ruining the moment Stiles,” he said.

Stiles rolled his eyes and a gentle smile played on his lips.

“Oh _I’m_ ruining the moment am I?” he said. “You always think I ruin the moment.”

“That’s because you don’t know when to shut up,” Derek said, sitting up with his legs over the edge of the bed.

“I thought you told me that you don’t mind me making noise in this particular context,” he said, patting down the sheet beside him.

“Noises and incessant talking are different,” Derek said with a look over his shoulder.

“Well maybe if you were doing your job properly I wouldn’t be talking I’d just be making all the Derek-approved sounds,” he said with a cheeky grin.

“You think so?” he said, quickly pulling himself back up onto the bed and pinning Stiles down again in one swift move.

“Yeah you’re not so good lately,” Stiles said, the grin still plastered to his smirking face.

“That’s not what you said earlier,” Derek purred.

Stiles shrugged and shifted his legs so that Derek fit better between them.

“Maybe I lied,” he said.

“Maybe we should go over it one more time just to clear it up.”

Derek’s lips shifted quickly to just under Stiles’ chin and Stiles closed his eyes, tilting his head back to let him.

“Yes _please_ ,” he murmured.

Derek chuckled to himself.

“Now those are two words I don’t mind you saying.”

 

 

Allison stood on the balcony of their Parisian apartment, warm coffee in her hand as she stared out over the city. They had been there for a while now, taking a break from their life in America and trying to push past all the hurt they’d seen over the last few years.

They had been there for a while now and she had learned so much more about herself and about her family than she ever thought she would. They had been over the country side, through the small towns and the wine country, they had been in the bigger cities and through the famed streets.

It was like a dream, travelling in her year after high school – albeit with her father – in one of the most notable cities in the world. She had even managed to catch up with Jackson and Danny as they made their way through Europe.

She felt almost awkward talking about that with Lydia when they found the time to talk, knowing that even if she would never admit it she still felt something, faded as that emotion may be. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about how they had been to parties and how she had spent days in Paris with him, and Danny of course.

Still, they had only been there for about a week and now, looking out over the buildings as they were greeted by the warm glow of the morning sun she couldn’t help but miss her home.

She headed back inside, leaving her bedroom and into the shared living area to see her father sitting at the table and reading his book.

“Sleep well?” he asked and she shrugged, sitting down beside him with a small smile.

“Better than I have done,” she said. “What have you got on today?”

“Well, I have a client to talk to,” he said. “Not a lot else really. You going to be alright on your own?”

Allison smiled and chuckled to herself.

“I’m eighteen years old dad, nearly nineteen,” she said. “I think I can take care of myself.”

Chris laughed a little to himself.

“Eighteen, nineteen, it doesn’t matter all that much to your dad,” he said, standing up and kissing her head.

She shook her head but her smile stayed on her lips.

“So,” she asked, looking down into her cup. “Did you extend the lease?”

“Why? You think I shouldn’t have?”

“That’s a yes then?” she asked.

“It’s only an extra month, why, I thought you wanted to say?”

“I do, I just… I don’t know, I guess some days I miss home more than others.”

He turned back to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

“America? Or Beacon Hills,” he said.

She smiled with a shrug.

“Is there much difference between the two?”

“Maybe not,” he said, “I still have some business to finish here but maybe we can talk about it when that’s all sorted.”

“Okay,” she said as he headed off into his room.

It was true, she did miss home. She missed her friends and despite all the crazy supernatural bullshit, she missed that life.

The only worry she had was that she knew how different it would be coming back to all of it in a new year. Everything had changed after all.

Sometimes she could pretend that things were different because she had left, because she had got up and made the change, but she really did know that no matter what happened things were never going to be the same as they were.

 

“I am just saying, you wouldn’t want to work for a guy like that,” Isaac said as they stepped up to the storefront of the next place on their list.

“A job is a job Isaac,” Erica said as she pushed the door open to let him in.

“Yeah but did you _hear_ what he said as we left?” he said.

“I don’t think men really understand just how often that kind of crap gets said about us,” she said as she gave him a look. “And he can put his hands wherever he wants, so long as he doesn’t mind losing them.”

“Now that I’d like to see,” Isaac said.

“Yeah well, just wait, one day I am going to lose it and it will not be pretty,” she said as they walked up to the counter.

A guy walked up to the bar, giving both of them a smile as he did.

“Hey guys, hope you weren’t waiting long,” he said, his smile a little crooked.

“Not really,” Erica said. “I was just wondering if you guys had any job openings.”

“Uh,” he mumbled, turning to look back behind the counter. “Maybe, I mean probably, you ever worked in a café before?”

“If that’s the prerequisite then I might as well just turn around now, tail between my legs and all that,” she said and Isaac did well to supress his smile.

The guy smiled, looking down at his hands a little and then looking back up through deep brown eyes.

“It’s um, no not really, I mean I don’t really know anything and I’m, well I’m still here,” he said with a hint of nervous laughter. “I’m Rajanish.”

“Erica,” she said.

He just nodded a little and they spent a moment in awkward quiet.

“Uh, I can take a resume or a number or something if you want?” he said and Isaac took a few steps towards the door so he could snicker to himself in private.

“That would be great, thanks,” Erica said, handing him her resume.

“You, you don’t want a coffee or anything?” he asked.

“No, I’m good,” she said, turning a little. “Thanks again.”

He made a little wave motion with his hand and she turned to leave with Isaac.

“Mouth shut,” she hissed at him as they walked out the door.

“Well he thought you were just adorable,” Isaac teased.

“What did I just say?” Erica said.

“Oh come on, I’m pretty sure you gave him heart palpitations,” he said and Erica stood up a bit straighter and flicked her hair back.

“Yeah well, it’s not that surprising,” she said and Isaac laughed. “Shut up and let’s keep going.”

“Okay, let’s go and break some more hearts shall we?”

“I’m going to punch you in the face,” she said.

“You’ll have to catch me first.”

“Please, I’m faster than you and you know it.”

 

Stiles lay in the hotel bed watching as Derek sat on the edge and stretched out, bones creaking as if they were older than they were.

He had no doubt that he knew more about this man than anyone else but that still didn’t mean he knew as much as there was to know.

Derek had been more forthcoming as of late, letting little things slip or allowing himself to reveal things that Stiles didn’t know but still he kept up a guard. He refused to budge on some things and he said very little about the time he spent after the fire.

Stiles often wondered if he would ever truly open himself up, and if he didn’t, whether he was ashamed of the things he did in that time. He could only push him so far before he would shut himself off completely and as frustrating as it was for Stiles he would rather take a few choice words than silence.

“You’re doing it again,” Derek said, turning his head to look back at Stiles.

“Doing what?” Stiles asked.

“Staring.”

“Well stop looking like that and I’ll stop staring.”

Derek rolled his eyes and stood up, Stiles pursing his lips as his eyes dropped down first to the small dimples in Derek’s lower back and then lower still.

He was everything anyone could ever ask for, in a physical sense. He had the perfect face, the hair, the jawline, his body was something else entirely.

Stiles couldn’t help but compare himself to all that Derek was, and he tried not to let it get to him very often but for some reason he felt that tingle of self-doubt and looked away.

“Lots of people stare at you,” Stiles said quietly, still looking away.

“I don’t like it when anyone stares Stiles, it’s not restricted to you,” he said. “I’m sure I’ve told you that before.”

He turned to look at him and noticed his diverted eyes. He thought about saying something but couldn’t quite think of the right thing so he walked around the bed and into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Stiles rolled onto his back and sighed, stretching himself out under the sheet.

When Derek came back out a minute or so later Stiles still didn’t look up at him. He walked over to get in beside him, nuzzling his nose against Stiles’ cheek and letting out a sigh.

He didn’t like being apart just as much as Stiles, but he was better at pretending that the distance didn’t hurt.

“What have you go on for the week then?” he asked quietly and Stiles shrugged, his shoulder bumping the underside of Derek’s chin.

“Not a lot, studying mostly,” he said. “I have a paper due but Kyle said he’d help me out. He took the class last year.”

“He’s a year above you?” Derek asked. “He doesn’t look it.”

“Yeah I think he’s in his second year, not too sure. Could be his third I never really asked,” Stiles said, knowing that Derek was making small talk.

It was easy to tell when Derek was worried that Stiles was trying to bring something up because he usually had nothing to say, the small talk was a clear sign that he was trying not to talk about something else.

“You want to talk about the weather too?” Stiles asked and Derek sighed, resting his head beside Stiles’. “It’s actually been pretty decent.”

“Stiles…” Derek grumbled.

“Oh come on, you’re filling the silence and we both know it,” he said. “I wasn’t going to start some big conversation, I know you hate that.”

Derek couldn’t help but note the hint of bitterness in Stiles’ voice.

“You had that look, there was something on your mind,” he said quietly. “And in my experience when something is on your mind it usually makes its way to your mouth.”

Stiles didn’t chuckle, he just shook his head a little and shrugged again before letting out a gentle sigh.

“I’m annoying,” he said flatly. “I frustrate you.”

Derek held him tighter and kissed him behind his ear.

“Yes,” he murmured.

“I have no filter and no off button.”

“Yeah,” Derek said, kissing him again.

“I’m squishy and clumsy and have trouble growing an adequate amount of facial hair.”

Derek just chuckled at that one, nose nuzzling against his neck again.

“I have very little focus and I talk too much.”

Derek kissed him on the shoulder, still holding him tightly around the waist

“And?” he asked.

Stiles bit his lip and closed his eyes for a moment.

“And you wouldn’t have looked twice at me if I wasn’t a trigger for you.”

Derek froze in his movements and Stiles felt his body tighten up beside him.

“You don’t have to say anything much Derek, I was just―”

“You were what? Projecting your insecurities?”

It came out harsher than he had intended, but subtle wasn’t really Derek’s way.

“I guess,” Stiles said quietly. “Doesn’t make it any less true.”

“Stiles why―” Derek cut himself off and sighed.

“You don’t have to say anything Derek, and I don’t even know why I said anything in the first place. I’m just… I don’t know…” he said.

“No filter?” Derek asked and Stiles nodded.

“Just ignore it,” he said.

“You’re not…” Derek sighed, frustrated at himself because he wasn’t better at this. “You’re not a second choice Stiles.”

“I know that, I just…” he rolled onto his back and turned his head to face Derek. “I need you. And I mean I don’t want to have to need anybody but I need _you_ , and I don’t know a hell of a lot about this trigger thing or how it works and maybe… maybe I’m just worried that one day it might break and you’ll realise that you never really wanted me as much as you thought.”

Derek searched his face and said nothing, he just reached out to brush his cheek with his fingers.

“I’m being really crappy and emotional I know, I just… I miss you a lot when you’re not here and my brain has a lot of spare time at night to think and I just convince myself… well you know,” he said, shaking his head.

“I’m not good at any of this Stiles,” Derek said, avoiding eye contact. “You know that.”

“I know,” he said, a smile coming back to his lips. “You totally suck at it.”

“And here I was thinking you trying to be serious,” Derek said.

“Well, I was but I guess I suck at that too.”

Derek shook his head, his hand running down over Stiles’ arm to link their fingers together.

“And you’re right,” Stiles said with a little gleam in his eye. “You aren’t so good at the whole oral communication thing.”

“My oral skills are fine, I think you mean verbal skills,” he said and Stiles chuckled.

“Oh you’re that confident are you? I mean how would you know? Shouldn’t I be the judge of that?”

“If you like,” Derek said with a flick of his eyebrows.

“I would, very much, like _a lot_ , just…” he wrapped his arms around Derek and just smiled at him. “Tomorrow?”

Derek nodded, leaning in to catch his lips with his own and letting his arms engulf him.

Stiles rested his head against his shoulder and closed his eyes while Derek just listened in to the sound of his steadying heartbeat and wondering how Stiles could ever think that he would want any other choice.


	5. Chapter Four: Finding the Next Step

**_Chapter Four:_ ** _Finding the Next Step_

 

“So you want to go get pizza or something?” Erica asked after they had finished handing in her resumes.

“Uh, sure, I could eat some pizza,” Isaac said and Erica rolled her eyes.

“You know you could just say ‘no thanks I want to go bang my boyfriend’”, she said and he laughed, shaking his head.

“That was not what I was thinking about,” he said.

“Please, you’ve been in and out of arousal the whole time we’ve been out and I highly doubt it’s because of me,” she said and Isaac smiled to himself. “I mean you barely even look at my boobs anymore.”

Isaac scoffed, “Please, I never looked _that_ much before anyway.”

Erica slowed her steps and gave him a look with an eyebrow high on her forehead and Isaac just grinned with a shrug.

“That’s what I thought,” she said and they kept walking. “What do you even stare at on Scott? He’s a pretty skinny little dude.”

Isaac shrugged and Erica rolled her eyes as his heartrate elevated a little.

“He’s got a pretty great ass though,” he said.

“You would know,” she said in a sing-song voice.

“Intimately,” he said with a grin and Erica punched him in the arm.

“Congratulations, I am no longer hungry.”

“Hey, you brought it up,” he said. “Come on, let’s go eat.”

“Nope, now all I can think about is―”

“I thought I said keep your mind _out_ of my bedroom,” Isaac said. “Come _on_. Scott’s got some study to do anyway.”

She shrugged and he rolled his eyes but they headed off to get food anyway.

 

 

Danny and Jackson were back in their hotel room before a night out, Jackson working too hard on his hair according to Danny and Danny wearing too much aftershave according to Jackson.

Either way, they were preparing for another big night.

“I’m telling you,” Jackson said as he ran his hand through his hair as he cocked an eyebrow at himself in the mirror. “You try too hard.”

“I’m not the one preening myself in the mirror,” Danny said as he buttoned up his shirt. “Nor am I the one who’s been doing it for the past twenty minutes.”

“You can’t rush perfection Danny,” Jackson said and Danny laughed to himself.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” he said.

Jackson was just about done, only changing his shirt one more time.

“So,” Danny said. “Original plan was to fly home in two weeks, are we still thinking that’s our plan?”

“Didn’t think we had much of a plan Danny boy,” he said.

“You didn’t, I don’t have the same luxury as you in terms of disposable cash,” he said. “I probably only have enough left for the rough plan that we had.”

Jackson shrugged. “I can cover it.”

“As rich as I know you are, there is no way I’m going to let you do that,” Danny said. “I mean hey, by all means, you could stay.”

Jackson just shrugged again. He didn’t know what he wanted to do.

On one hand he could stay, there was always more to see and do. On the other, he could head back and have to face up with reality and start making some serious decisions about his future.

Then again, if he stayed he would have to be alone and he didn’t know if he could handle being alone with his own thoughts.

“Let’s just go out, can we do that?” Jackson said and Danny grinned.

“You need to loosen up,” he said. “Get yourself in the mood.”

“You going to help me with that are you?” Jackson asked with a raised eyebrow.

Danny walked over and clapped his hand down on his shoulder.

“I am that hard up at the moment that I would even consider you,” he said. “And that’s why you’re going to give me the room for an hour or so tonight.”

“Please, you don’t need an hour,” Jackson said. “And you’d be lucky to have me.”

“Believe me, I need an hour,” Danny said, giving him a wink as he opened the hotel door.

“What the hell do you need with an hour?” Jackson asked as he grabbed the room key and walked past him into the hall.

Danny laughed again, “Oh you poor depraved soul.”

 

 

Derek woke up the next morning to an empty bed, sitting up as his eyes adjusted to the morning light.

He looked around the room to see Stiles sitting at the table in the corner and scribbling something down.

“What are you doing?” Derek asked, voice all scratchy.

Stiles turned around quickly, smiling over at him.

“Sorry, I just, I had a brainstorm about something for one of my papers and I had to write it down while it was in my head,” he said.

“Of course you did,” Derek said as he blinked a few times to wake himself up.

“I won’t be too long, promise,” he said.

“I’ve heard that before,” Derek said, lying back down in the sheets.

“You should be encouraging my studious habits!” he said as he went back to writing. “Shame on you Derek Hale!”

Derek shook his head with a smile, propping himself up on his elbows as he watched him writing furiously.

“Can you multi-task?” he asked.

“You know me, I can’t even focus on one thing let alone multiple things,” Stiles said without looking up.

He felt Derek’s hands slide up his arms to rest on his shoulders, fingers gently pressing in on the taut muscle.

Stiles let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

“When you asked if I could multitask I thought you might have meant something else,” he said.

Derek smiled, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek while his fingers worked in small circles.

“I did,” he said and Stiles chuckled.

“I’ve got to say though, right now I don’t know which one I’d prefer,” he said and Derek let out a quiet chuckle.

“Then just do your work,” he said.

“I told you, I can’t multitask.”

Derek shook his head and stepped away. Stiles turned in his chair to look at him.

“I didn’t mean stop,” he said.

“You should study,” he said, sitting back down on the bed.

“I just had to write something down,” Stiles said with a shrug. “I’ve got two whole weeks to study. I’ve only got one weekend to do… this.”

Derek looked down at his hands.

“You can do this whenever you want Stiles,” he said and Stiles huffed out a small sigh.

“Okay well let me rephrase then, I’ve only got one weekend to do _you_ ,” he said. “I mean you can push the button as many times as you want but that doesn’t mean I’m going to… well that metaphor didn’t really go anywhere did it?”

“I’m just saying Stiles―”

“I know exactly what you’re saying and if you don’t stop bringing it up you’re going to force me to break my hand on your face,” he said with a nod and Derek managed a small smile.

“I just want you to be―”

“Young and free and happy, I know, I get it,” Stiles said. “I don’t _need_ anyone else to have that, okay?”

Derek let out a sigh and nodded.

“Let’s just forget I said anything,” he said and Stiles nodded sharply.

“That’ll be easy enough,” he said. “Can we please not have this argument anymore?”

“We say we won’t every time Stiles,” Derek said, and he was right.

They had been going over the semantics of the same argument for months, ever since Stiles had gone out looking at colleges the year before.

Derek didn’t want him to miss out on anything a college student could experience. He wanted Stiles to have exactly the experience he wanted regardless of the restrictions their relationship bound him by. Stiles just wanted Derek to stop acting like he couldn’t enjoy his college experience unless he got everything out of it in more ways than one.

Derek knew why Stiles hated the argument but still he brought it up when he could. He didn’t want Stiles to go out and do all the things he was telling him he could, but he didn’t want him to get older and become resentful that he couldn’t.

“I don’t want to do any of that Derek, if I did… why would I be here with you?” he said.

“Because you can feel the thing that tethers us together just as much as I can,” Derek said and Stiles sighed. “You can feel the tie and sometimes I worry that it… that it clouds your judgement.”

“Seriously?” Stiles said. “I might actually punch you in the face.”

Derek’s lip turned up in a quick chuckle.

“Then you _will_ break your hand.”

“Exactly, so don’t make me do it,” he said, walking over to stand by Derek. “Can we fight about this on the phone tomorrow night or something? You are totally screwing up our last day.”

“Oh am I?” Derek said, reaching out to pull Stiles in closer and kissing his stomach slowly.

“Come on Derek,” he said. “Can we just… go get breakfast and go see a movie or something? Like normal couples?”

Derek held him tighter a moment, kissing his side again.

“Okay, we can do that,” he said.

 

Isaac and Erica sat at the burger bar on the café strip, hiding at a booth in the back because she’d already handed her resume in to the manager and felt weird hanging around and making awkward eye contact.

“You know if you worked here you would have to speak to them,” Isaac said with a grin to which Erica just glared back.

“Shut up,” she said. “This job hunting thing sucks.”

“Yeah well,” Isaac shrugged.

“You don’t get to add your input because you don’t even have a job,” she said accusingly. “You can’t live off Derek forever.”

“I know that,” he said. “I’m still living off my inheritance.”

Erica rolled her eyes.

“And when that runs out?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “How do you just decide what you want to do? I can’t even decide what to eat.”

Erica laughed to herself.

“I get that, I don’t know,” she said. “I think all this pressure to find that ‘one job’ is a whole lot of bullshit that’s no longer relevant, you know? Like we don’t have to decide today what we want to do because there is so much else we can do first. You used to just go to college and get the right degree and start working for the rest of your life… now I guess we’ve got more choices.”

“That’s deep coming from you,” Isaac said and she pulled a face, kicking him under the table. “What are your plans for the week then? I guess you don’t need me crashing any more of them.”

“Not a lot, same old really,” he said, looking down at his drink.

“You still uh… you still going to see―”

“Yeah,” he said without looking up. “Yeah actually I’m going tomorrow.”

Erica nodded. “I still don’t get why you bother.”

“It’s once every two or three weeks, it probably doesn’t matter anyway.”

“That what Scott thinks?”

This time he looked up and it was her turn to stare fixatedly at her glass.

“Don’t,” he said. “He knows, I talk to him about it. He’s fine.”

“Fine or―”

“ _Erica_.”

“Alright, okay,” she said. “Just saying that if I were you I wouldn’t be wasting my time.”

“Thanks for the input but I know what I’m doing,” he said. “Can we eat without arguing please?”

She smiled. “You know us, it’s not really possible.”

 

Lydia flicked her hair over her shoulder as she walked back across campus after her study. She was tired, ready to slow down and stop moving.

She hadn’t been sleeping well.

If it wasn’t because she was seeing herself everywhere and hearing voices where there was none, it was the rest of the figures that followed her.

She would see them in crowds, sitting in her lecture theatres, on nights out on the town. They were everywhere and she couldn’t figure out how to get away from them.

As she walked she could feel her skin prickling, hear the dull whispers that surrounded her. When she looked up she saw the familiar face that she had learned to dread.

“Leave me alone,” she said as she walked past him.

He turned in step to follow her and she sucked in a sharp breath.

“Come on Lydia, I thought I was the one you could confide in?” she turned to look up at Stiles’ face, so familiar and yet she knew it wasn’t really him.

“You are not who you appear to be, and you’re definitely not real,” she said.

“I’m real enough to you,” the figure said, still hidden behind the mask of Stiles’ face.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she said quietly, stepping away and walking a little faster.

“Well how about like this?”

Lydia stopped in her tracks at the sound of the voice, turning to see Peter’s face staring back at her.

“Now that’s oddly disturbing,” she said, wondering why her mind would conjure him of all people.

“I’m just asking you to listen Lydia,” he said and she shook her head, taking out her phone and dialling.

She put the phone to her ear and turned to walk away from the figure.

“Hello? Lydia? What’s up?” Stiles’ voice came through the receiver and Lydia let out a sigh as she kept walking.

“I just wanted to know if you have time to talk?” she said. “Feels like it’s been a while.”

“Uh, yeah that’s cool – hey Derek just wait up a second – what’s going on?” he said.

She closed her eyes a moment.

“It’s your weekend with Derek, I forgot,” she said. “Look I’ll call you in the week and we can talk then.”

“Are you sure I mean I don’t mind―”

“It’s fine Stiles, enjoy your weekend,” she said as she hung up the phone.

She sighed again and the prickling feeling returned to her skin.

“If only you’d _listen_ Lydia…” the figure said.

“ _Leave me_ alone!” she hissed, turning back.

“It’s not up to me.”

She put her hands to her head and screwed up her eyes in frustration, just about ready to scream.

Instead she let out a sob and just fell to her knees, shaking her head as tears fell from her eyes. She pulled her hands away from her face and looked up, only to find herself alone in the quad.

It was getting even harder to handle, she didn’t know how much more of it she could take.

 

Stiles stared down at his phone strangely and Derek stood in the doorway to their room giving him an equally inquisitive look.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah… yeah I just got a weird phone call from Lydia,” he said. “She wanted to talk but then she was just… gone.”

“You think something’s wrong?”

“I hope not, I hope she just wanted to talk but I don’t know… she seemed… something, I don’t know what.”

“If she needs you I’m sure she’ll call,” Derek said.

Stiles scoffed. “You don’t know Lydia, she’ll completely shut herself off before she ruins someone else’s plans. She’s a hell of a lot less self-centred than people seem to think.”

He opened up a message and sent her something quick.

**_If you need anything Lyds just call, seriously anytime you need me_ **

“You still want to get food?” Derek asked.

“Yeah,” Stiles nodded. “She wouldn’t answer me now anyway she’d think she was interrupting.”

“I’m fine for us not to go if you need to talk to her,” Derek said and Stiles smiled over at him.

“Oh no, we’re going,” he said. “I have talked about you way too much for you not to turn up, everyone would think I’ve been lying this whole time.”

They were on their way out to dinner with some of Stiles’ new friends from college, something Derek was looking less than forward to. He wasn’t social with people he knew and like, let alone strangers.

He would of course be civil and charming and an utter delight, but only Stiles would know the truth.

“Come on, it won’t be long, we’re just going out to the Chinese place for some food and then coming back here, it’ll be like two hours max.”

Derek sighed, holding out his hand to Stiles.

“Come on then, let’s get it over with.”

“Romantic,” Stiles grinned.

“Have I ever been?” Derek asked.

“You’ve had your moments,” he said.

“You don’t need to tell the story about me showing up to your prom,” Derek said. “It wasn’t that big of a gesture.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell that story,” he said as he stepped past Derek in the doorway. “Besides, they already know that one.”

Derek grumbled as he closed the door behind them.

 

Erica and Isaac finished their meals and headed out, squinting a little in the sunlight. Erica sighed as she looked around the street.

“You know, I don’t really want to work in any of these places,” she said with a scrunch of her nose.

“So what you’re saying is I just wasted my entire morning… for nothing?” Isaac said.

She rolled her eyes and looked up at him.

“No, asshole, not for nothing,” she said.

He gave her a smile and she returned it, giving his arm a gentle squeeze.

She looked back down the street to see the door of one of the cafés open and the boy she’d spoken to earlier, Rajanish, walking out with a bucket and cleaning gear.

He looked up and caught her eye, awkwardly lifting his hand to give her a wave before seeming to blush and turn back to the windows, taking out a sponge and cleaning them with vigour.

“Look at you,” Isaac said with a grin. “Already stealing hearts.”

“Shut up, it’s sweet,” she said. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be now that we’re done?”

“See you later?” he said.

“Get out of here and go see Scott,” she said. “Go.”

He grinned and they headed off in separate directions. She looked up at Rajanish again to see him quickly turn back to his task and she smiled to herself before heading out on her way.

Isaac took a little extra time heading home, he knew Scott had probably drowned himself in some kind of study and would probably want more time to concentrate.

By the time he made it back and through the door Scott was sitting at the table with a pen clacking between his teeth and a furrow in his brow.

“Hey,” Isaac said with a smile and Scott looked over warmly. “You look productive.”

Scott scoffed.

“Not really, I keep getting stuck on the same thing… but let’s forget about that, how was your morning?” he asked.

“You know, just walking up and down the street without much result.”

“So, basically the same?” he said with a smile and Isaac shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess it was.”

“Have you eaten?” Scott asked.

“Uh, yeah, I grabbed a bite with Erica on the way back,” he said.

“No worries, I’m just looking for a reason to procrastinate anyway.”

“How about I make you something, then once you’ve eaten you can give up for a few hours and we can watch crappy TV for a while?” Isaac said, walking over to kiss Scott warmly on the mouth.

“Sounds good to me,” he said with a smile.

As Isaac walked into their small kitchen Scott couldn’t help but notice his heart rate build a little.

“You okay?” he said, following him with his eyes.

“What? Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” he said.

“Then why do you seem nervous?” Scott asked.

Isaac sighed.

“Because I was thinking that I would go and see Cassie tomorrow.”

This time he heard Scott’s heart pound faster as he nodded with his eyes down.

“Oh.”

“I mean it’s been nearly a month since I went last,” he said. “I think it helps you know.”

“I know you want to do what you can to help―”

“I mean it’s not just about her, I think… I think it’s something I need to do to be able to move on from the whole thing.”

“I know.”

“I’ve told you before though Scott if you’re not comfortable with me going―”

“Isaac, no,” Scott said, getting up and walking over to him. “Look, you… you going to see her after everything that happened… I mean it takes a special kind of person to be able to do that and I love that about you.”

Isaac smiled softly and Scott took him by the hand.

“I’m not saying I’m thrilled that you go and visit her but it’s just who you are. I mean I still think she should have been locked up for life in a prison, but I mean I get why you make the effort.”

“She’s locked up for life anyway, you know that,” Scott nodded but shrugged his shoulders a little. “You could come with me, see what it’s like. I mean that way you know she’s getting what she needs ― what she deserves.”

“I don’t know Isaac…” Scott said.

“You don’t have to, it might be good for you is all.”

“Maybe,” he said.

Isaac leant in to kiss him again before turning to the fridge to try and find some food.

“Where exactly is she again?” Scott asked. “I know you’ve told me before.”

“A place called Eichen House.”


	6. Chapter Five: Housing Old Memories

**_Chapter Five:_ ** _Housing Old Memories_

 

Derek smiled over at Stiles as they walked back to the hotel after dinner.

Stiles had downed a few beers and was extra giddy but Derek didn’t mind because of the smile on his face.

“Well they all seem to like you,” he grinned. “Lorena was practically dribbling into her food.”

Derek rolled his eyes.

“Would you stop that?” he said, grabbing his arm to stop him from tripping.

“Alright, alright,” he said, leaning himself into Derek’s side. “You like them right? I mean you know, it wasn’t too bad right?”

“They’re nice,” he said and this time Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Okay calm down Derek, no need to talk my ear off about it,” he said and Derek managed a laugh.

“How you manage to find ways to be _more_ obnoxious astounds me,” he said.

Stiles stopped and launched himself at Derek, wrapping his arms around him.

“Just admit it, you love my obnoxiousness,” he grinned.

“I’m sure I’ve mentioned that before,” he said, head dipping down to kiss him.

Stiles sighed as he took Derek’s hand and continued the walk back.

“I wish it was Friday again,” Stiles said, scuffing his feet as he walked. “The weekend always goes too quick.”

“I know,” Derek said with a sigh.

They walked back in mostly silence and when they reached the room Stiles fell back onto the bed, lying with his arms spread out as he kicked off his shoes.

Derek smiled down at him as he stripped out of his jacket.

“Big day tomorrow?” he asked and Stiles just grumbled to himself.

“I have a paper due mid-week and group study tomorrow. I hate group study, I always end up running the damn thing and trying not to choke on the stench of weed coming off this one guy… I don’t understand how some people even get _into_ college.”

Derek shook his head, unbuttoning his shirt and hanging it over the back of the chair before lying down beside him.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” he said.

Stiles grumbled again, “not the point.”

“Well what is your point?”

“My point is that you’re leaving tomorrow and the weekend doesn’t last long enough,” he said, turning to look at him.

Derek reached out to drape his arm over Stiles’ stomach.

“The weeks always go fast too,” he said, fingers gently strumming his skin.

“Not really,” Stiles said. “I see you like two and a half days out of fourteen and I see everyone else even less. The last time I saw my dad was probably two months ago.”

“You Skype,” Derek said with a smile and Stiles just rolled his eyes.

“He has no idea how that works, he sucks at it,” he said. “And Skype is not seeing a person, it’s the closest you can get but it’s not the same. This is literally only half way through year one, I have three and a half more to go.”

“You’ll―”

“Get used to it, I know,” he said. “I’m just… I don’t know, it’s a big change is all.”

“You know we spend more time when I’m here talking about this than anything else,” Derek said.

“Or arguing, we’re pretty good at that,” Stiles said.

Derek scoot closer, lifting his mouth to press it against Stiles’ and kissed him gently, letting his lips trail over his chin.

“I guess I should just be happy there’s no supernatural bullshit going on,” he said and Derek looked up at him with a glare. “What?”

“You are impossible to please, you know that?”

Stiles smirked a little.

“You of all people should know how untrue that is,” he said. “It’s not like it takes a genius.”

“Oh really?” Derek said.

“Yeah well you manage,” he grinned.

“I don’t know if you’re giving me a compliment or insulting me,” he said.

“I’m actually not sure either.”

“Well then just shut up,” he said.

“Okay but I think that’ll only last a half-second at most,” he said.

“Stiles? Shut up or I’ll find a way to make you.”

“Not sure if that’s a threat or a challenge,” he grinned, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it aside as Derek pulled him in closer.

“Take your pick,” he said as he ran his hand up Stiles’ side.

“I like a challenge…” he said, pushing Derek onto his back and slipping down to the end of the bed to kneel on the floor behind it.

Derek just shook his head as he felt Stiles quickly open up the buckle of his jeans. As he felt the heat of his lips surround him he dropped his head back onto the sheets and sighed. Even this wasn’t quite enough to keep Stiles quiet, but if he was honest he liked it that way.

 

 

Boyd had been walking along the road for quite some time, safe to say silence was always welcome.

By the time he came across the college campus and then the small bar just beyond he was ready to take a break. He headed in, dropping his backpack by the bar and taking a seat on one of the stools.

He may have looked like he was in his mid-twenties but still he only asked for a lemonade, much to the bartenders disapproval.

“That all then?” he asked as he handed over the glass.

Boyd ordered a meal which seemed to make the man a little less grumpy and then pulled his phone out of his pocket.

He had a missed call and three messages from Erica which wasn’t surprising, she was always calling to check in on him.

**From Erica:** _How’s the tracking going?_

_Just want to know you’re okay._

_You could answer my calls once in a while._

He smiled to himself and hit the call icon, putting the phone to his ear. It was only a few rings before she picked up.

“Now you reply!” she said, without so much as a hello. “I’ve been trying to get you all day.”

“Hi Erica, I miss you too,” he said.

He heard her sigh and tut loudly.

“Yeah, yeah, you know I miss you or I wouldn’t be calling you so often,” she said. “Don’t be a smart ass.”

“I was on the road, just got caught up thinking,” he said.

“Yeah well, any of that thinking getting you anywhere?” she asked.

“Well I’m in Portland,” he said and she scoffed.

“I knew _that_ , are you any closer to―”

“Obviously not,” he said. “Ethan told me that she liked it in Portland when they were here, he said she wanted to stay.”

“So you’re hoping you can what? Search the city and find her?”

“I just want to know what happened to her, that’s she’s alright,” he said. “Some form of closure would be nice.

“I’m just saying don’t―”

“Don’t get my hopes up, I know,” he said. “You remind me every time you call.”

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said quietly. “When are you coming back?”

“Erica,” he said.

“I know, I know, I just… I miss your stupid face is all.”

“And I miss yours,” he said. “I don’t know yet, I promise you’ll be the first to know when I do.”

“I better be,” she said.

“I have to go, my food’s here,” he said.

He heard her sigh on the other line.

“Yeah, okay, text me later?”

“I promise,” he said.

As he put his phone back onto his pocket a woman walked over with his meal and set it down in front of him.

“On the road?” she asked and he nodded. “Vacation?”

“Kind of,” he said. “I’m looking for someone.”

“They know you’re looking for them?” she asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Maybe, I’m not sure,” he said and the woman gave a slow nod. “She’s missing.”

Her face softened a little.

“Oh I’m sorry, you got a picture? Maybe I can help you out.”

He pulled out the old photo and showed her, explaining that she would look a little different now. She stared at it a moment before giving him an apologetic look.

“Sorry sweety, never seen her before,” she said. “Last seen around here?”

“No, but I was told she liked it in Portland,” he said.

“Runaway?”

“I don’t know, that’s what I’m trying to find out.”

She put a hand on his arm before pouring him another drink.

“Well good luck to you,” she said. “You on your way to the city?”

He nodded again.

“I’m sure you’ll find something,” she said before heading back to the kitchen.

_I sure as hell hope so_ , he thought.

 

The strobe lights flashed quickly, making everything go by in a slide show of sweaty dancing bodies and rapidly downed shots. It didn’t matter how many Jackson drank, he felt very little change.

He tried not to think about how much he missed the special brew that Derek found a way to acquire or the buzz that he was so longing for.

There had to be a place abroad that catered for his werewolf-ish needs but he found the thought of looking into it painful and frustrating so he just closed his eyes and danced to the beat.

He put his hands on the waist of the Grecian girl dancing with him, her dark brown hair falling in her face as she ran her fingers down the side of his neck and over his chest. She looked up at him with dilated pupils and he envied her the ability to get lost in anything but herself.

He looked over to where Danny was standing, lips locked with a shirtless Greek man with hair shaved around the sides and a set of washboard abs that were pressed right up against Danny that there was hardy room for either of them to breathe.

The parties, the dancing, the intoxicating atmosphere, it was all enough for him before but he was starting to crave more to sate the need inside him to escape. What used to be enough no longer worked the way he wanted.

He reached up to take the girl’s wrists and gently pulled them away from him, slipping through the crowd and out into the cool open air. They were at a makeshift rave by the ocean, the site just as beautiful to his oversensitive eyes in the dark night as it was in the sunny afternoons.

He shook his head in frustration as he began walking down towards the water.

“Never knew you to walk away from a party!” Danny called from behind him.

“No need to yell Danny boy, I can hear you just fine,” he said without turning back to look at him.

He heard him jog to catch up, nudging him with his shoulder as he did.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“What makes you think something’s wrong?”

“Because you’re far more transparent than you think,” Danny said. “And the Jackson I know wouldn’t just walk out of a party for no reason. So I’ll ask again, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” he said, staring out at the view as they made their way down to the sand.

“You sure?” Danny asked.

“Don’t drop out of the party on my account,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I can protect myself if I need to.”

Danny chuckled.

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” he said. “ _Protect_ yourself, sure, take _care_ of yourself? Pretty sure you need someone for that.”

“Screw you,” Jackson said without even an ounce of bitterness in his voice.

Danny smiled, throwing his arm over Jackson’s shoulder.

“Come on, clearly the beach is going to be better at consoling you than I am,” he said with a grin.

Jackson griped and shoved him off to the side and continued walking.

 

 

Stiles lay on his side next to Derek as he slept, eyes trailing over every perfect inch of him. He couldn’t sleep and he almost didn’t want to. If he did then the weekend would be over and Derek would be leaving to go back home.

He ran his fingers gently through Derek’s hair, watching the slight twitch in Derek’s features as he slept. He sighed and let his fingers run down the length of his stubbled cheek, thumb brushing softly over his lip.

Derek stirred a little and Stiles just smiled down at him.

“Stiles…” he grumbled sleepily. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” he said quietly. “Just can’t sleep is all.”

“Well doing that isn’t going to help.”

“Alright, okay fine,” Stiles said. “I just… you could stay for a few more days, I mean I could work it around all my study―”

“You know how this argument goes Stiles,” Derek said.

He pulled Stiles in closer as he rolled onto his other side and scoot backwards into Derek, just sighing again.

“You’ll be fine tomorrow,” Derek murmured in his ear. “You always are.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Just go to _sleep_.”

“Okay, but I have a day off on the Friday two weeks from now so you have to promise you’ll come a day earlier,” he said.

Derek chuckled and the feel of it against the back of Stiles’ neck sent a shiver down his spine.

“Okay, I promise,” he said.

“Good, so we’ve already cut it down to thirteen days until you’re back.”

Derek didn’t reply, he just nuzzled into him a little more and Stiles closed his eyes.

_Only the longest thirteen days ever._

 

 

Isaac sat at the table the next morning just taking slow bites of his toast, his appetite mostly evading him.

He heard Scott turn the shower off in the bathroom and dropped the piece in his hand down onto the plate with a sharp sigh. He hadn’t been to Eichen house before and Isaac was wondering what would be going through his mind.

It was a strange place, had a very odd feel about it and not just because it held a whole host of troubled young people but for another reason he couldn’t quite figure out.

Scott walked out of the bedroom as he pulled a shirt over his head and Isaac looked up at him.

“Good shower?” he asked and Scott smiled.

“You could have joined me,” he said.

Isaac looked down at his plate again and shook his head.

“You okay?” Scott asked. “You always seem quiet when you go to this place.”

“Well it’s not like I should be excited about going,” he said and Scott shrugged. “Sorry, I just… I don’t know.”

“If you don’t want to go―”

“No I _want_ to, I just don’t think I should be exactly happy about it,” he said. “You know you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

“I know, but maybe I should,” he said. “It’ll be an experience anyway.”

It wasn’t much longer before they were on their way, there wasn’t really much else to say between them on the way there.

As Isaac directed him to the old building Scott felt the nerves building inside him, he wasn’t even sure why. Maybe it was because he wasn’t sure what he was going to find.

When they finally made it the place was different than he had expected. Where he had imagined a facility that looked like a hospital stood an old house behind wrought iron gates in archaic condition.

“This is the place?” he said as Isaac walked beside him.

“It looks a lot different on the inside,” he assured him.

“I hope so because from here it looks like something out of a horror film,” he said.

Isaac looked over at him, “For some of them I guess it is.”

Scott felt a pang of guilt at that and Isaac could hear his anxious heartbeat.

“Sorry I… I don’t know this is kind of new to me,” he said.

Isaac held out his hand for Scott to take and slowly he did before they walked through the gates and up the long drive way.

“Eichen House,” Scott said. “What does that mean?”

“It’s a lot creepier if you think about it,” Isaac said. “Come on.”

They headed up to the door and Isaac pushed it open, letting Scott walk in before him.

The main room was old but well maintained and no matter what Isaac said about the place Scott couldn’t help but feel chills run over him as they walked towards the front desk.

The whole place smelled clinical, medical; it felt like a hospital but somehow it was different. Somewhere from within the halls towards the back of the building he heard a scream and every hair on his body stood on end.

“Does that happen―” he whispered.

“Every single time I’m here,” Isaac said, swallowing hard and staring straight ahead.

They headed to the desk and Isaac stood there with his hands in his pockets, just waiting.

“Hey sweetheart, can I help you?” the woman asked as she put the phone down.

“Uh yeah, I’m here for a visit,” he said. “With uh, with Cassidy Calhoun.”

She nodded as if she already knew.

“Isaac, right?” she asked and he nodded. “She asked about you yesterday, funny how things work out.”

“Yeah,” Isaac said, turning to look back at Scott who was trying to tune out some of the things he was hearing. “This is my friend Scott.”

_Friend?_ Scott thought as he looked up at him. Somehow it felt like they’d been _there_ before.

“Alright, just let me go and check with the nurse,” she said as she got up from her desk.

Isaac sighed and turned to face Scott.

“Friend?” Scott asked.

“Yeah, that felt a little weird,” he said.

“I mean I get it, you never know if people are going to judge,” he said. “Seems a little old school around here.”

“It can be,” Isaac said and Scott reached out to squeeze his hand for a moment

Scott flinched as he heard someone crying from somewhere within the building.

“Please tell me that gets easier to drown out,” he said.

“Wish I could,” he said as the receptionist came back into the room.

“You can come through if you like, she’s in the tea room,” she said.

“Thanks,” Isaac said, looking to Scott and nodding in the direction of the door. “Come on, I know where to go.”

They walked through a sterile hallway, past a number of doors that read ‘do not enter’ or ‘restricted’ until they found a warmer part of the building.

It was like a large living room with a few tables and couches and the only thing that made Scott feel uncomfortable was all the people dressed in white stationed around the room and the small receptacle for dispensing medications. It could have been a college common room if it weren’t for that.

He followed Isaac over to a table in the corner where a woman sat with her long hair falling in her face and down over he back. Scott froze, he recognised her scent and he hadn’t quite been prepared to see her again.

“Hey Cassie,” Isaac said softly as he sat down in one of the chairs.

“Isaac,” she said, fingers idly playing with the pen in her hand.

“Told you I’d come back soon right?” he said.

“You brought him,” she said without looking up and Scott felt his heart pounding as Isaac turned to look at him.

“Yeah, yeah I brought him,” Isaac said.

Scott walked slowly around the table to stand behind the chair opposite her.

“Cassie,” he said as he slowly took a seat.

She lifted her head to look up at him and the breath hitched in his throat and he froze as he stared at her.

He had two welted scars down one side of her face, still pink from their recent healing. It took him a moment to realise that they were from Erica’s claws back in the warehouse.

“Scott McCall,” she said as she stared at him blankly.

Scott looked over at Isaac a moment before turning back to her.

“How have you been feeling?” Isaac asked.

She looked up at him and he tried not to focus on her scars, something he still hadn’t quite gotten used to.

“I’m on four different medications a day,” she said. “I don’t feel much at all.”

Scott swallowed, it wasn’t what he had expected when he agreed to come and see her. Part of him had expected her to be the manipulative sickly sweet but revenge-fuelled girl he had known only months ago even though he had seen the beginnings of her breakdown.

“It was only two last time, what happened?” Isaac asked.

She looked down at the pen in her hands.

“They thought I needed more,” she said.

“You remember last time I told you that you could call me if you needed to, you can tell me if you’re in trouble,” Isaac said.

“Maybe I don’t want to do that,” she said.

Scott pushed the chair back from the table and stood up, Isaac looking over t him curiously.

“I uh… I can’t… I’ll just wait outside for you,” he said.

“Scott―”

“Really it’s okay, take your time,” he said as he got up and walked away from the table feeling oddly sick to his stomach.

He walked over to stand outside the room, leaning his back against one of the white hallway walls and taking deep breaths. He didn’t know how Isaac managed to do it.

As he regained some calm he felt another shiver run over his skin and words almost humming in his ears.

“ _Scott McCall…_ ”

His eyes turned to the end of the hall, tuning in his ears to where the voice had come from. It had to be his imagination.

“ _Scott_ …”

That time he knew he had heard something. He walked down to the door, standing by the wall and listening in again. He could hear lots of things, lots of people making lots of different sounds and then he heard his name whispered again and he couldn’t ignore it.

No matter how much it made his insides squirm there was no way he could walk away after hearing it. He looked around and couldn’t see anyone within sight and quickly slipped behind the door.

He was shocked at how different it looked, the sterile white hallway gave way to darker tiles, making the place look more like Scott had thought upon seeing the outside.

He listened for the voice and heard it ring out again.

“ _Scott McCall…_ ”

He turned to the left and made his way to the end of the new hallway and came across the stairwell. He heard footsteps coming from the way he had come and made the quick decision to open the door to the stairwell and quickly make his way down one flight.

As he looked out the small window he began to feel ill. He saw another hallway, this on much more dank than the others with rooms that seemed to have bars on the doors.

His senses were overwhelmed with a varied array of things, some he wasn’t even sure were human.

The sign on the door read ‘restricted, authorised access only’ in big red capital letters but that kind of thing didn’t seem to stop anyone anymore.

The door was unlocked so he pushed it open and slowly walked through. All the things he had heard before became clearer.

He could hear someone crying, someone muttering to themselves and then he heard his name on someone’s lips again, followed by a laugh that he recognised.

He urged himself slowly forward, looking through the bars on one of the doors – more like a cell than a hospital room.

The girl inside seemed to look up at him with a snarl and he turned away quickly, trying to keep his ears trained on sounds of any orderlies but all he could hear were the sounds of the residents.

He flinched as he heard someone yelling from one of the rooms and walked along faster until he came across a door almost at the end of the hall and on the right. This time the voice was completely clear.

“Scott McCall…”

He turned slowly and felt his eyes grow wide as he looked through the bars to see the face behind them.

He was chained inside from what Scott could see. He reached up to pull the bolt from the door and tried to open it but there was another key lock on it. Using one of his claws he picked the lock and with a loud squeak he pulled the door open to look in at him.

“You…” he said.

“Come on now,” he said with a sadistic upturn of his lip. “I’m sure you remember my name.”

“Cal,” he said as he stared in at him.

Cal sneered, his eyes a little mad as he chuckled to himself. He was strapped in what Scott could only think of as a straight-jacket with chains running from him to the walls.

“You’re supposed to be―” Scot began.

“Dead? In prison?” Cal said. “Don’t tell me that they didn’t tell you about what they did to me.”

“I know what they did,” Scott said.

Cal grinned. “Well why don’t you come on in, I don’t bite…”

He laughed to himself and Scott looked around the room again. As he lifted his hand up to pass through the doorway he felt a barrier between them. It almost didn’t surprise him, part of him was expecting it to be there.

“Right,” Cal said. “That.”

“What do you want?” Scott asked.

“What makes you think I want anything?” Cal said with a tilt of his head.

“You were calling me.”

“Only because I wanted to see if you were really here,” he said. “It’s not like you can give me what I want anyway. You can’t even get in.”

“You think I could free you even if I could?” Scott snapped. “After what you did?”

Cal laughed to himself again, a laugh that made the sickness in Scott’s stomach flare up.

“What makes you think I would ask for that?” he said. “I’d ask you for the same thing that most of the other people in this hell-hole would ask you for.”

“And what’s that?” Scott asked.

“To die.”

Scott said nothing, he felt his body jump at the sound of a scream from a few doors down and turned his head to look. As he did Cal got to his feet and took quick steps towards him, stopping when his chains became taut.

“You ever wonder why they put me in here? Like _this_?” he asked and again Scott just looked at him. “Turns out it’s a lot harder to kill a wolf than you’d think.”

“You should already know that,” Scott said quietly without breaking eye contact and Cal started laughing again.

He dropped his head down and his hair fell over his forehead as he did. He stopped suddenly and looked up with a cold gaze and a snarl on his lips.

“You’re smarter than you look Scott,” he said. “But don’t think there won’t be someone else around to get rid of you, and Isaac.”

“Is that all you wanted from me?” Scott said through gritted teeth.

“Even Stiles isn’t safe, not with the company he keeps.”

“You deserve to be locked up here for the rest of your life,” Scott said, his eyes flashing. “And I hope that’s a long time.”

Cal grinned again.

“Tell Cassie that her scars are very becoming,” he said and Scott just narrowed his eyes. “You will never be safe here, in this town.”

“You’re more trouble than you’re worth,” Scott said. “I hope this drives you to the edge and that you never come back.”

Cal snarled, thrashing against his chains with a loud yell and Scott stepped back in horror as he watched his face contort to that of a wolf but he was different. He looked like something out of a horror film, like he wasn’t even a wolf but the undead version of one with dark black eyes and fangs so pronounced his face looked more like a skull.

A thought crossed Scott’s mind, _what you are on the outside reflects what you are on the inside_.

Cal was more than just a wolf, he truly was a monster.

He heard someone coming from down the hall and quickly shut the door, only to hear Cal screaming from inside it and straining against his chains. As Scott hid himself behind the door to the stairwell two orderlies ran to his door and one took out a shotgun which must have been a tranquiliser and fired in on him.

He didn’t go quiet for a few moments and even then there was no silence, the girl in the room closest to the door began to wail and Scott knew it was time to leave, and fast.

He ran up the stairs and back to the door to the main hall.

As he stepped out he came face to face with a nurse.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked.

“I uh, I was looking for the bathroom?” he said though he was sure the shock was still written on his face.

“Down the other corridor,” she said sharply. “Can’t you read the sign?”

She pointed to the ‘no entry’ sign on the door and he nodded as he passed her.

“Sorry, just got turned around,” he said as he headed to the main foyer and then out the front doors.

Even the fresh air wasn’t enough to slow down his heart rate.

 

 

Erica rolled over in her bed for about the fifteenth time. She hated it being so quiet.

The loft wasn’t supposed to be a quiet place, it was supposed to be full of people and voices. That wasn’t true if Derek had any say but they all knew that even as the alpha he had no say over that.

Her hair was everywhere and the blanket was tangled in all sorts of ways and only just covering her body.

She grumbled as her phone started ringing.

She didn’t recognise the number but she answered anyway, yawning in the process.

“Hello?”

“Uh, hi, is this… is this Erica?” the voice said.

She narrowed her eyes and sat up a little.

“This is she,” she said. “Who is this?”

“Oh, it’s Rajanish from the Central Café, sorry, probably should have led with that,” he said and she smiled to herself.

“No, that’s no worries, what’s up?” she said.

“Well I was just calling because I – I mean my boss wants to know if you want to come in for an interview, for a job,” he said and she sat up a little more, patting down her unruly hair.

“Really? That’s great, thank you, uh when―”

“This afternoon? If you’re free, one of our baristas is leaving so we’re looking for someone pretty soon if you’re up for it.”

“Yeah, I mean an interview would be amazing, thank you,” she said before it went quiet. “Hello?”

“Yeah, uh, great. See you this afternoon then,” he said.

“Bye,” she said as she hung up.

She smiled to herself and lay back down in her sheets.

“Well I guess days don’t start much better than that,” she said to herself. “Well, when you wake up alone anyway.”

 

 

“Don’t look so mopey,” Derek said as he pulled his shirt over his head.

“You don’t know it but this is my constant state of being for about oh… two weeks at a time,” he said.

Derek smiled to himself.

“Come here,” he said, standing up and giving Stiles a look.

“Nope, you’re leaving,” he said.

“Would you stop,” Derek said. “Come here.”

Stiles pouted but walked over to him and let Derek embrace him with his arms wide.

“I love you,” Derek mumbled against the side of his head.

“I love you too,” Stiles said, holding him tighter. “I just wish you didn’t have to go.”

“I’ll call you when I’m home,” Derek said.

“You mean when you get to my house for dinner with my dad?” Stiles said, pulling back with a grin.

“You wanted me to keep an eye on him didn’t you?” Derek said.

“Okay, okay, drive me back to campus at least?”

“Don’t I always?”

“Two weeks, I can do another two weeks,” Stiles said as he grabbed his jacket.

Derek walked over to kiss him in that way he did that made him forget what he was worrying about. As much as Stiles hated it when he did that he would have given anything for it never to stop.


	7. Chapter Six: Secrets

**_Chapter Six:_ ** _Secrets_

 

Allison pulled her bow string taut, lining up her sight with her target. She took in a deep breath and held it, letting her hands steady before breathing out slowly and releasing her arrow.

It struck the target barely an inch off centre and she lowered her bow.

“Nice shot,” her father said. “You usually hit them dead on though.”

She turned her head to the side and cocked an eyebrow at him.

“You criticising my shot?” she asked.

He shrugged.

“It’s constructive,” he said.

“How is that constructive?”

“Because you’re not going to want to miss the next one now,” he grinned.

She rolled her eyes and took another arrow from her quiver and lined it up. She got her breathing set and closed her eyes a moment before refocussing her gaze and letting the arrow fly.

This time it was spot on the centre.

“I told you,” he said and she just gave him a look.

“Okay, you were right,” she said. “That what you were waiting for me to say?”

“Something like that,” he laughed.

She smiled and looked down at her bow, the faint scratches in its surface gentle reminders of the battles she had fought, the people that had fought beside her.

“So I extended the lease out another month,” he said and she nodded to him, fingers brushing over one of the scrapes by the sight of her bow. “I also bought a couple of plane tickets for not long after that.”

She looked up at him and he gave her a smile.

“You seemed like you were missing home more so than usual,” he said.

“You know me, we’ll get on the plane and I’ll decide I want to stay,” she grinned.

“Are you saying I shouldn’t have booked them?” he asked and she walked over to wrap her arms around him.

“No, I’m glad you did,” she said with a sigh. “I think by then it’ll be time to go home.”

 

 

Scott stood outside the facility by the gates, trying to get as far away from the shrieking walls as he could. It didn’t seem to do much for him, he could still hear the sounds from inside.

It was probably twenty minutes before Isaac walked out through the doors and gave him a strange look as he walked up to him.

“Hey, are you okay? You kind of disappeared,” he asked and Scott turned away to get out of the gates as fast as he could.

“I’m fine, can we please go?” he said.

“The voices are kind of hard to drown out sometimes, I guess I should have warned you about that,” he said with a sigh as he jogged a few steps to catch up.

“Probably,” Scott said. “You could also have told me that Cal was in there too.”

“What?” Isaac said. “Scott, hold up, wait…”

He grabbed his arm to stop him and Scott turned to look at him.

“Cal went to prison last I heard, what do you mean ‘he’s in there too’?” he asked.

“He was calling me, couldn’t you hear it? He was just calling my name over and over until I went in there,” he said.

“No I… I didn’t hear him, I heard yelling and screaming but… wait, you went in there to see that psychopath?”

“I had to know what the hell was going on,” he said. “You swear you didn’t know?”

“Listen to my heartbeat Scott, I swear I didn’t know,” he said. “I don’t know how I could have missed it but I swear… I didn’t know he was in there.”

Scott sighed and reached out to take Isaac’s hand.

“I know, I’m sorry, I know you would have told me if you knew,” he said. “There’s something weird going on in that place.”

“I know, I get a weird feeling every time I go in,” Isaac said.

“It’s more than that,” Scott said, lowering his voice a little. “Cal was chained to the wall, and there was mountain ash around the base of his cell.”

“What?” Isaac said, looking back up at the building. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah, and he was being held a few floors below the main wings. He was behind a lot of doors that said ‘do not enter’,” he said.

“Maybe that’s the best place for him then,” Isaac said. “Considering… what he is now.”

“About that,” Scott said. “He’s not like us, I mean, he is but…”

“But what?”

“But he’s not like anyone I’ve ever seen before,” he said. “He was… he was horrific.”

“Come on, let’s go,” Isaac said. “We should also probably tell Derek when he gets back.”

“Why? Does he need to know?” Scott asked.

“We should tell him, considering he did turn Cal and all,” he said. “And by the sounds of things he turned him into something pretty nasty.”

“Pretty sure he did that to himself,” Scott muttered.

“Still,” Isaac said and Scott sighed again. “If Derek finds out and we haven’t told him…”

“Okay, let’s go home and we can tell him when he gets back. You’re right, it’s not really a secret but we shouldn’t keep it from him.”

Isaac felt the knot tighten in his stomach, he hated keeping secrets and the longer he held in the truth about what he had seen Scott do in that warehouse the more he worried about what would happen when it finally came out.

 

 

Jackson woke up to the sound of the ocean, a lot closer than he had thought it would be. It was then that he realised that he had been sleeping on the Grecian beach and that the warm cosmopolitan sun was beating down on his skin.

He sat up and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light and looked out at the clear blue water by the high cliffs.

“Bout time you woke up.”

He turned to see Danny walking over to him holding his shoes in one hand with his shirt unbuttoned and pants rolled up to the knee.

He grinned down at him as he dropped his shoes and came to sit beside him.

“You left me sleeping on a beach in a foreign country?” he asked.

“Living the dream right?” he said with a grin and nudged him with his shoulder. “Relax, we fell asleep around three, looks like it’s early still.”

“You let me sleep in the sand?” he asked.

“There is just no pleasing you,” Danny said with a sly grin as he looked out over the flawless landscape.

“We missed the end of the party then,” Jackson grumbled and Danny just laughed.

“Yeah, because you just had to wander off out into the night,” Jackson didn’t say anything, he just kept staring out over the water. “Look, I know after everything you said last night that you want me to believe that everything is fine, and that I’m almost completely sure you’re still trying to convince _yourself_ of that fact… but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you’re starting to get homesick.”

“I am not―”

“Okay, maybe not homesick – but you miss everyone back home,” Danny said and Jackson scoffed. “It’s probably some werewolf thing and that probably bugs you just as much as anything else but it doesn’t make it any less true.”

“I do not miss them,” he said. “They’re annoying and irritating and constantly reek of sex―”

“Oh because you would never have reeked of sex,” Danny said. “I’m sure even I could have smelled it.”

“What you’re smelling me now?”

“We’ve shared a hotel room this whole trip, you stink, just deal with it,” he said.

“Yeah like you smell any better.”

“Our friendship has officially gotten weird,” Danny said.

Jackson grunted and lay back on the warm sand and this time Danny lay beside him.

“Maybe it is time to start thinking about our flight back home,” he said.

“Only real question now is where from,” Danny said.

“Where are most of the hot European girls, let’s go there,” Jackson said and Danny scoffed.

“Please, you’re asking me? As if I would notice,” he laughed.

“Not even a little bit Danny?” Jackson asked, the characteristic smirk weaving its way back onto his features.

“Nope, still gay.”

“How do you know if you never tried?” he teased.

“Okay, so how about I go pick up a girl tonight and you can give me a blowjob in the hotel, huh? You won’t know you don’t like it until you try it,” he mocked.

“You wish,” he said. “And you could at least buy me dinner first.”

“How about breakfast?”

Jackson looked over at him with raised eyebrows.

“Relax you asshole, I haven’t got that desperate yet,” Danny said as he sat up. “Come on, I’m starving.”

“Shut up Danny, you’d be lucky to have me and you know it.”

“Yeah, yeah, get your ass off the beach,” he said, grabbing his shoes as the two of them made their way back to the town centre.

 

 

Erica looked at herself in the mirror and bit down on her lip as she straightened out her shirt. She was wearing probably the most respectable thing she owned and still she felt like it wasn’t good enough.

Her make-up was probably too much and she could never get her hair to stay neatly when it was tied back, or when it was out for that matter.

She made a face at herself and turned away, straightening out her shirt again as she heard footsteps in the loft downstairs.

She smiled to herself and bopped down the stairs to see Derek dropping his keys on the bench.

“You’re back,” she said as she reached the landing.

“You’re all dressed up,” he said and she just rolled her eyes.

“Job interview,” she said and he gave her a nod. “Just for some café on the strip but you know, it’s something.”

“Good job,” he said and she smiled to herself a little more.

It wasn’t like he said much but that was the best she was going to get from Derek and somehow it made her feel better.

“So since you’re back does that mean you’re willing to drive me in so I don’t have to catch the bus or you know, run like some kind of freak,” she said and he just grunted over at her.

“When do you need to be there?”

“We could leave in like ten minutes?”

“Fine,” Derek said, picking up his keys and tossing them to her. “You can drive.”

“Do I look okay?” she asked and he turned with an eyebrow raised. “I mean like ‘job interview’ okay, I know I look good.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” he said.

She rolled her eyes and sat on the chair by the bench.

“So how was Stiles then? Or did you not do a whole lot of talking?”

He glared over at her.

“He’s fine, busy with school,” he said.

“Okay, I get it,” she said. “I’ll shut up until we leave.”

“You talk to him as much as I do,” he said. “He probably tells you more than he does me.”

She snorted out a laugh.

“No one talks to him more than he _does_ you,” she grinned.

“Are you finished?” he said.

“Oh come on, you’ve got to admit that you walked into that one.”

“Go and get in the car.”

He could sense her nerves the whole way down to the car and then again the entire drive. She was trying to hide it but there wasn’t much you could hide from Derek.

As they pulled up on the main strip Erica adjusted her shirt for about the fourth time since they’d left and tried to push down her hair. Derek just smiled.

“You’ll be great,” he said.

“I’ve never done this before, what if I’m awful?”

“If you don’t get the job you’ll find something else,” he said.

“Maybe I can do what you do,” she said and he smiled with a shake of his head.

“Go, you’ll be fine.”

She nodded and made a move to get out when the car gave a small lurch forward and Derek put the handbrake on in a flash.

He gave her a look and she smiled nervously.

“Maybe try to put it in park first,” he said.

“You’re right, I don’t want to spend my first fifty pay checks on fixing your stupid expensive car,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Go,” he said and after making sure the car wasn’t going anywhere she opened up the door and headed to the shop.

She looked back at him when she made it to the door and for a second he saw the same look that she gave him back in the hospital when he first asked her if she had wanted what he could offer. She was scared of new things and she didn’t often show it.

He gave her a nod and she headed in.

Sometimes even after so much change people still find a way of letting their old selves back in.

Erica walked into the store and pulled at her shirt one more time as she made her way to the counter. She could see Rajanish working on the coffee machine as the girl at the register gave her a beaming smile.

“Hey there, how’s it going?” she said.

“Uh, hi, fine, I mean I’m pretty good,” she said, mentally scolding herself. “I’m here for an interview, for you know, a job.”

The girl nodded, “Right, yeah, Erin isn’t it?”

“Erica,” she corrected.

“Sorry, Erica,” she said. “Let me just get the boss, she’s out back.”

Erica nodded as the girl headed around the corner.

“Hey, you made it,” Erica looked over to see Rajanish giving her a smile from behind the steam of the coffee machine.

“I did,” she said. “Not that it means a lot, I’m sure everyone can show up when they’re asked to.”

He laughed to himself as he poured the milk into a tall glass.

“You would think so,” he said.

“Erica,” she spun quickly to see a woman walking out with the girl from before and gave her a nervous smile. “I’m Mandy, the manager, come on, let’s go take a seat. Tell Raj what you want to drink, I’ll have―”

“I know, I got it,” he said with a smile. “Erica?”

“Uh, a latte I guess, thank you,” she said and Mandy put her hand on her shoulder and gestured towards a table for two in the corner. “Shall we?”

Erica nodded and headed off with her to take a seat.

 

 

Stiles huffed out in a tremendous sigh as he collapsed onto his dorm room bed, closing his eyes and grunting further as the springs beneath him squeaked.

Kyle looked over from his bed with a grin, closing his book and doing nothing to hide his amusement.

“Long day?” he asked.

“Derek left this morning,” he said. “It makes class about fifteen times more fun.”

“I’m sensing more than your fair share of sarcasm,” Kyle said. “Come on, you know it’s never as long as you think it’s going to be.”

“Oh it is, it most definitely is,” he groaned.

He grit his teeth together and shook his head, looking over at Kyle when he heard him chuckle.

“You know, the way you find my frustration so hilarious is actually kind of making it worse.”

“You’re a drama queen,” he said.

“And you’ve met Derek now, are you telling me you wouldn’t miss that?” he asked.

“Not saying I wouldn’t, but if I complained as much as you are right now are _you_ saying you wouldn’t be doing exactly what I am?” he raised an eyebrow and Stiles just sighed.

“Yes, you’re right, I know,” he said, sitting up on the edge of the bed. “You hungry? I’m starving.”

“Sure, what you feel like?” Kyle said, tossing his book and stretching out as he got up.

“Dude, it’s two dollar taco day,” Stiles said.

Kyle shook his head, “right, how could I forget?”

Stiles shoved him back onto his bed as he passed him and made his way to the door and Kyle followed with a laugh.

 

“So you liked him right? I mean he wasn’t too… brooding and standoffish?” Stiles asked before taking a bite out of his taco.

“He was both of those things but he was in a room full of people he doesn’t know and let’s face it, everyone we know can be a little overwhelming at the best of times,” he said. “And yeah, he seemed like an alright guy.”

Stiles made a sound as he chewed quickly, his need to talk usually greater than his need to eat.

“He is an alright guy, I mean he’s more than alright but around other people I’d say that’s a pretty good way to describe him,” he said. “So how many guys slept over in the dorm while I was out of it? Should I be disinfecting the room before I sleep in there tonight?”

Kyle laughed and shook his head.

“What kind of dirty sex do you think I have in there when you’re out for the weekend?” he asked.

“I try not to think about it but I’m sure it happens,” he said.

“Uh huh, relax Stilinski, no one went near your bed so you should be in the clear,” he said. “Besides, I’ll bet the hotel staff had fun _actually_ disinfecting the room you stayed in at the hotel.”

“Alright, okay, fair call,” he said. “But seriously, how was your weekend?”

“Sex free if you believe that,” Kyle said with a laugh.

“I don’t not for a second,” Stiles said through a mouthful of taco. “You always have someone over when Derek’s here.”

“What can I say, finals are coming up and I needed to study,” he said.

“Yeah well my weekend was about as far from sex free as you can get, like so far from that,” he said. “And it was great, really great.”

Kyle looked over at him a moment as he took another bite of his taco and Stiles just raised his eyebrows.

“What?” he asked with a full mouth.

Kyle shrugged. “I don’t know, you didn’t seem totally sure of yourself.”

“If there’s one thing I’m sure about, it’s that,” Stiles said.

Kyle was still giving him a look, “… but?”

“But nothing, just… I mean we can talk about this right? It’s not weird?” he said.

“Not unless you’re about to make it weird,” he grinned.

“No I mean,” Stiles ran his hand through his hair a little. “Derek won’t talk about any of this stuff, and you can forget about talking about you know, past _experiences_.”

“Some people are just private about their sex lives,” Kyle offered.

“You’re supposed to agree with me that he’s unreasonable secretive,” Stiles said.

“Maybe he has secrets that _need_ to be kept,” he said. “Some of us do you know.”

“Okay you’re no help at all,” he said and Kyle grinned. “Seriously, what good are you?”

“Well for starters I took the final exam for your Mythology 101 class last year so I have a good idea of what’s going to be on the paper this year,” he said.

“Alright you’re some good,” Stiles said. “Mostly evil though.”

Kyle just laughed with a quick shake of his head as stiles launched into some big story about the upcoming exams. Once you got him started there really was no stopping him.

 

 

Erica walked out of the coffee shop and heard the little bell above the door jingle as she did. It was starting to get cooler so she decided she would walk back to the loft, or at least to a bus stop close by.

Her phone started buzzing in her pocket ad she fished it out to see Isaac calling.

“Hey, what’s going on?” she said.

“Not much, just calling to see if you were at the loft,” he said.

“No, I was actually out at a job interview,” she said with a smile on her lips.

“Oh, okay, I just wanted to know if Derek was back at all.”

She rolled her eyes and let out a loud sigh.

“He got back right before I left, as far as I know he was heading back there after he drove with me down here.”

“Okay cool, I just didn’t want to bug him if he was still driving back from Berkeley,” he said. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” she said as he hung up. “I got the job by the way, ‘oh good for you Erica, nice job’.”

She rolled her eyes again and kept on walking.

 

“Are we heading over there then?” Scott asked as Isaac stared down at the phone in his hands.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah I guess. I probably should have asked her about the interview, huh?”

“You’ve got time for that later,” Scott said. “Let’s go.”

Isaac couldn’t stop thinking about Cal the whole way there, he wondered how he could have been there without him knowing. He’d been there enough, he should have noticed. Scott had never been before and managed to figure it out.

How could he have missed it?

When they arrived Derek just gave the both of them an irritated glare.

“You know I’ve barely been back an hour,” he said.

“We know,” Scott said. “We just had something we thought we should tell you.”

“Can I say it?” Isaac said with a glance over at Scott.

Scott raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged.

“I guess so,” he said with confusion.

Isaac sighed and turned back to Derek.

“I’ve been visiting Cassie in the hospital she got sent to,” he watched Derek’s nostrils flare as he said the words and Scott looked over at him. “I hadn’t told you before I guess I just didn’t think I needed to mention it.”

“How long have you been going?” Derek said as Scott looked from him back to Isaac.

“A few months, since her sentence kicked in,” he said. “Until she passes a psych evaluation she’ll be hospitalised in a place that can give her the treatment she needs.”

“Have you heard of Eichen House?” Scott asked and Derek’s eyes flicked over to him.

“It’s not a place I would recommend spending a lot of time,” he said slowly.

“Well that’s kind of the thing,” Scott said. “Isaac said he didn’t know, but Cal was in there too.”

Derek’s reaction was minimal if it was anything. He just looked down at the book in his hands and ran a finger along the spine. That’s when it clicked.

“You knew that,” Isaac said. “You already knew, didn’t you?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t be following their movements?” he said. “Last thing I want is for him to get anything less than he deserves, especially after what I did to him.”

“When did he get sent there?” Scott asked.

“Only about two weeks ago, maybe less,” Derek said.

“You should have told us,” Isaac said, a hint of anger ticking over into his voice.

“Secrets don’t get you anywhere Derek,” Scott added.

“You never asked me what I knew about him, I was following his movements because he didn’t die shortly after the bite. Do you think it would have been smart to just forget about him after that? It might be what he hates the most but it doesn’t mean he couldn’t kill more people because of it,” he said.

“Well what did you expect?” Scott said. “Not that you need to worry, they’ve got him chained up and trapped in mountain ash. Did you know about that?”

“I know that he was transferred there after multiple attempts to kill himself failed,” Derek said. “Not to mention he killed his cellmate before they put him in isolation.”

“So you didn’t think this was something you should have told us?” Isaac snapped. “You must really secrets.”

“Enough,” he said. “If anything had of happened I would have told you all. If I ever thought any of you were in danger I would have told you. But you weren’t, and you didn’t ask. I was keeping tabs on him and you were visiting her, I don’t recall hearing about that until now.”

Scott sighed, seeming to find the middle ground but Isaac was still grinding his teeth as he stood there with his arms folded.

“You’re right I guess,” Scott said. “Well either way, we just thought you should know.”

Derek gave him a nod and Scott went to take Isaac’s hand.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” he said.

“You go,” he said quietly. “I’m going to hang around for a little bit.”

Scott reached up for a kiss, giving one last look over his shoulder at Derek before heading out.

Isaac stared over at Derek until Scott’s footsteps became too faint to hear.

“Go on then,” Derek said, knowing that Isaac still had something to say.

“You sure do like to keep secrets,” he said.

“It wasn’t a secret,” he said. “None of you needed to see him, I was only keeping an eye on him in case he escaped. Do you really think we need him on the loose?”

“You shouldn’t have turned him if you were so worried.”

“Are you going to tell me how to be an alpha?”

Isaac scoffed.

“Maybe,” he said. “Maybe you could start by letting me tell Scott what I saw that night at the warehouse.”

“He doesn’t need to know.”

“We have a rule between us, no lies, we tell each other the truth,” Isaac said. “You’re not letting me do that.”

“What good will it do if he knows?” Derek asked. “Do you think any of us really understand it?”

“I think you do,” Isaac said. “I think you know what it means and that you’re kind of threatened by it. A ‘true alpha’, I think it makes you feel like he’s going to come in and take everything you made.”

Derek narrowed his eyes.

“You’re not telling him what you saw, or what you know.”

“It’s who he is, what he could be! You’re just going to let him go on not knowing about it?”

“ _Trust me_ when I say that the less people who know what he has the potential to be, the better,” he growled. “You think that Scott finding out you’re keeping this from him is going to destroy your relationship? There are worse things that could happen.”

“I guess I don’t have a choice but to trust you, do I?”

“If you really did trust me then I would have to force you to keep it to yourself,” Derek said.

“Or maybe I’m just right and you’re worried about your own power,” he said. “Whatever, tell Erica I’ll call her later.”

He turned towards the door and Derek thought about having the last word but instead he just let him go. One day he would see it for what it was but until then all the secrecy was helping no one.

 

 

Lydia got back to her room that evening and stood for a moment in the doorway. The day had been better than it had been in a long time.

She hadn’t seen any of their faces, the voices were few and far between and no one had been trying to coerce her into listening to them. As good as she had felt all afternoon she couldn’t help but feel like maybe she would come home to find them all waiting for her.

She stared into the empty room and heard nothing, saw nothing, everything was calm and silent and still.

As she shut the door behind her she still didn’t trust it and she wondered if she would ever be able to trust the silence.

She flinched as her phone rang in her bag and fumbled as she pulled it out to see Stiles’ number.

“Hey Stiles,” she said. “Let me guess, Derek’s gone again?”

“Well, yeah, he left this morning, don’t pretend I’m only calling you because I’m lacking in Derek affection,” he said and she smiled.

“’Affection’, is that what you call it?”

“Everyone’s a comedian I swear…” he said. “I’m calling because you called acting all weird the other day and then you were real cagey with your texts. I didn’t want to bug you too much because I figured you might just have been stressed with school and busy or checking Danny’s Instagram or something―”

“Stiles!” she said, sitting down on her bed. “Honestly I’m fine, I had… a _moment_ the other day when I called but I actually think I’m… fine.”

“A ‘moment’, that what you’re calling it?”

“Don’t use my sass against me,” she said and heard him chuckle on the other line.

“Come on, I just want to make sure you’re okay, I’ve done a lot of reading on Banshees and it just sounds like a lot to deal with,” he paused a moment and she didn’t say anything, she just let her fingers play with the hem of her skirt. “Seriously Lydia, are you still having trouble sleeping?”

She sighed to herself.

“Sometimes, but I’m fine Stiles.”

“You can tell me Lyds, you shouldn’t try and deal with things by yourself.”

“I suppose sometimes…” she started, shaking her head. “I hear voices sometimes, otherwise I can handle it.”

Stiles didn’t really believe her but she was as stubborn as any of them and she would never ask for help until it got beyond her control and he worried what that was going to be.

“Okay, I won’t bug you about it,” he said. “You’re coming back after semester ends right?”

“To Beacon Hills?” she asked. “Well I’m not going on Spring Break if that’s what you mean.”

He chuckled, “So that’s a yes?”

“We’ll see Stiles,” she said.

“You have to come back, we’ll miss you.”

“I suppose I can drop in,” she said.

“You better.”

“I have to study Stiles, can we talk later.”

“Sure, I have the same problem,” he said. “Let me know if anything weird is going on with―”

“Goodbye Stiles,” she said in a sweet sing-song voice and he smiled as he bid her goodbye and hung up the phone.

He lay back on his dorm bed and looked up at the ceiling with a heavy sigh.

He lifted his phone and dialled, pressing it to his ear and waiting as it rang through.

“You know I’ve only been gone about eight hours Stiles,” Derek said and Stiles felt the smile spread over his lips.

“I know I just… I missed you already,” he said.

“How was your day?”

“Annoying, frustrating, irritatingly slow,” he said. “Two weeks is going to―”

“Stiles, stop watching the clock and maybe time will go by faster,” he said. “It’s only a month or so before you’re done for the semester.”

“Can you pretend you miss me for like two seconds?”

“Stiles, stop it.”

“Okay, alright,” he said. “So what are you doing now?”

“I’m enjoying the quiet until Erica gets back,” he said. “She had a job interview.”

“Nice, maybe I’ll call her next,” he said.

“She’ll still have plenty to say when she gets here,” he grumbled.

“It must suck to have to have a conversation with someone, I mean god, I can’t think of anything worse,” Stiles said.

“Don’t be a smart ass.”

“If I can’t be a wise ass then what have I got going for me?” he asked with a grin.

“I can think of a few things,” Derek said quietly.

Stiles let the silence hang there for a minute as he smiled to himself, the ache in his chest growing a little.

“… So you’re all alone in the loft right now?”

“Stiles,” Derek warned. “Don’t even think about it.”

He laughed to himself.

“Alright, alright, maybe tomorrow when Kyle has his late class,” he said.

“You just can’t help yourself can you?”

“When it comes to that I have very little self-control Derek, you should know that by now,” he said.

“Oh I do, and I never said I minded,” he said.

“Okay now you need to stop,” Stiles said. “I love you but dear god stop doing that with your voice.”

Derek chuckled.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said and Stiles sighed.

“You better promise you’ll call,” he said.

“I promise,” he said. “I love you.”

“I love you too you big Sour Wolf.”

“Good night Stiles,” Derek growled.

As they hung up Stiles lay back and sighed again, taking in the silence of the room.

He never believed anyone when they had told him one day he would miss high-school but somehow it all seemed to make sense now.


	8. Lovers and Strangers

**_Chapter Seven:_ ** _Lovers and Strangers_

As much as Stiles liked to complain, the time didn’t take so long to pass.

In just over a week the tensions that seemed to hang around from that weekend had dissipated. Isaac apologised to Erica for being insensitive about her job and sat in the café on her first shift, granted he laughed at her as she struggled with the coffee machine but he walked her home with an arm slung over her shoulder and she didn’t seem to mind so much.

Isaac and Derek didn’t so much as speak about the argument they’d had but they were both as stubborn as one another and were unlikely to do so in the future. They just pretended the encounter never happened.

Stiles wasn’t complaining any more of how long until Derek’s next visit but of how there were only a few days until he would see him again.

Scott still knew nothing of what Isaac had seen in the warehouse but like they say, ignorance is bliss.

Scott lay back on the small couch with Isaac kneeling over him, lips whispering sinful things in his ear.

“… and I know you like it a little faster,” he murmured as his tongue ran over Scott’s earlobe followed by his lips and teeth against his neck.

Scott’s eyes were closed tight and his mouth dropped open in a pleasured breath.

“But I know you like it slow too…” he said as he sucked a fading mark into Scott’s skin, his rough fingertips running over Scott’s bare chest and pinching one of his nipples between them.

Scott rolled his hips upwards and Isaac ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he smirked down at him.

Isaac knelt up, unbuckling his belt and pulling it from the loops of his jeans.

“Hands,” he said and watched that beautiful smile spread across Scott’s face.

Scott’s eyes fluttered open as he held his hands out in front of him.

“You enjoy that way too much,” he said as Isaac wrapped the belt around his wrists tightly.

“Don’t act like you don’t,” he said as he pulled it back behind Scott’s head and his knee slipped painfully between the couch cushions. “ _Ow_! Damn it… I hate this stupid couch!”

Scott laughed and shook his head.

“Come on, on the floor,” Isaac said and Scott did as he was asked, scooting out from under Isaac to lie on the floor with his bound arms above his head. “Why did we get the stupid couch?”

Isaac climbed over him, roughly holding his arms down against the floor.

“Because the stupid room looked empty without it,” Scott said. “And you know it’s not that bad for―”

Isaac silenced him with a kiss, his tongue dipping behind his teeth and licking into him sweetly, tasting the moan as it slipped through Scott’s lips. Isaac let his hand slide over Scott’s side and over the bulge in his unbuttoned jeans.

“Is that what you want?” Isaac murmured against his mouth. “You want to tell me what you want?”

He brought his fingers up to Scott’s lips and gently pulled his fingers down over his bottom lip and Scott lifted his head to take two into his mouth, sucking them down in earnest.

“You’re good at that,” Isaac said and Scott pulled away, dropping his head back onto the wooden floor.

“And you talk too much,” he said.

Isaac shrugged.

“Okay, if you’re that impatient,” he said, shuffling down and tugging at Scott’s pants until he was pulling them off his ankles.

In another quick movement he pulled down his own jeans and tossed them aside. He put his hands on the inside of Scott’s knees and parted them, making Scott blush from the exposure.

“Are you really still embarrassed with me seeing you like this?” he said as his hands gently roamed the inside of his thighs.

Scott raised an eyebrow.

“I’m completely naked and you have my hands tied above my head,” he said. “I think it’s a bit late for that.”

“And still you blush,” Isaac grinned.

“Shut up,” Scott said as he pulled Isaac down so their lips could meet.

This was the part Isaac liked the most about having a house to themselves, there was no hiding behind closed doors or hushed moans, they could be as open and exposed as they liked.

Isaac reached up between the cushions of the couch for the bottle he had brought out earlier and spread some of its contents over his fingers. He bit down on his lip as he watched the look on Scott’s face change as he pushed two of them into him.

The idea was to tease him slowly, draw the process out and listen to all the exquisite sounds Scott would make when he begged him for more, but that wasn’t to be on this occasion.

Instead his fingers moved quickly, pulling out when he felt Scott grow more pliant and slicked up his already leaking cock with a few sharp intakes of breath. He positioned himself between Scott’s legs and gave his entrance a few teasing ghosts with the thick head of his member before he was urging himself inside.

His own jaw dropped at the feel of being wrapped in Scott’s tight heat, the blissful feeling never not surprising him with how good it felt. He gave a few shallow thrusts, watching Scott panting beneath him as he tried to hold back his desire to ask for more. He was never any good at that.

“Isaac come on,” he said through his pleasured breaths. “Don’t make me break another belt.”

“You don’t make it easy to do that, you know, super strength and all,” Isaac said with a momentary stilling of his hips. “I’d have to get some industrial strength chains or something.”

He grinned down as he pushed his hips in until they were flush against Scott’s ass, but only for a moment until he was quickening his pace and Scott was wrapping his legs around Isaac’s waist.

He held Scott’s arms down tightly and rested the other elbow on the ground as his hips built up a rhythm that had Scott thrusting back to meet him each time and Isaac had to work really hard not to let the warm sensation spreading through him end their session early.

“You feel so good Scott,” he whispered by his ear, pinning his arms down again as he tried to move them. “Be good for me… tell me what you want…”

 

A moan slipped from between Scott’s lips and he grit his teeth, “turn me over.”

Isaac pulled out and shimmied back before giving Scott a little shove in the right direction. Scott rolled onto his stomach and got up onto his knees, hands still bound together.

Isaac gave him a hard slap on the ass and Scott grunted loudly in the small room.

He quickly lined himself up again and didn’t hesitate as he began thrusting into him harder than before.

“That how you want it?” he asked as Scott hung his head and arched his back.

“ _Oh yeah_ … that’s it Isaac… _fuck_ …” he groaned.

Another good thing about having a house to themselves, Scott was finally unreserved, finally unashamedly loud and it made that sensation spreading out inside Isaac even harder to hold back.

He reached around to put a hand on Scott’s neglected cock and gave it a few tugs in time with the rough thrusts of his hips before he could feel Scott tightening around him. He worked him with his hand a little faster and struggled to keep his rhythm as Scott’s heat tightened around him.

Scott gave a few erratic thrusts into Isaac’s hand before he was greeted with his sweet release and Isaac only had a few more in him before he was holding tightly to Scott’s hips, pulling him into him even further as he finally let the build in his belly crescendo.

He leant his weight against Scott for a few moments before he was pulling away and rolling onto the floor, panting as he stared up at the ceiling. Scott rolled onto his back beside him and held his hands out over him.

“Want to help me out of this?” he asked with a smile.

“I guess so,” Isaac said, loosening the belt and freeing his hands.

Isaac leant up on his side and kissed Scott on the corner of his mouth.

“Love you,” he said and watched Scott sit up and stretch himself out with a few loud cracks.

He turned back with a dopey grin and stood up to walk to the kitchen.

Isaac watched him go for a moment before lying back down with a sigh.

“So, what are our plans for today?” he asked.

“Well, I should really study,” Scott said. “And you said Erica had a shift today, are you done watching and laughing at her?”

“I never laugh at her,” Isaac said as he propped himself up on his elbows. “Okay, maybe a little but only when she steams herself in the face, you should see it, it’s hilarious.”

“I bet the angry look on her face is not so hilarious,” Scott said.

“Oh it is, the beating she gives me when we leave… not so much.”

Scott laughed as he came back in to hand him a glass of water.

“You can be so mean to her, you know that?”

“She’s just as mean back,” he said. “It works for us, if we’re ever nice to one another you know something’s not right.”

“So are you going over there then?” Scott asked again.

“I don’t know, maybe I want to spend my day off with you,” he grinned.

“I told you I have to study―”

“Oh come on, you can study any time,” Isaac said.

“Not when you keep distracting me,” he smiled.

“You enjoy it, a lot. You know how I can tell?”

“I have a few ideas,” he said. “Seriously though, I do need to study. I might also go and see my mom.”

“Okay, I’ll come with you,” Isaac said.

Scott just nodded and looked down at the glass in his hands.

“Or… I guess I could find something to do on my own so I’m not always butting in on your family time.”

“You know it’s not like that, my mom loves you,” Scott said.

“Yeah but you clearly want a little bit of time to yourself with her, I get it, I can always go and bug Derek. Or you know, get some of my own study done.”

“You’re sure?” Scott asked, kneeling down beside Isaac who leant up to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

“I’m sure,” he said. “Besides, it’ll give me a chance to think about what I’m going to do to you tonight.”

Scott laughed and kissed him again.

“I bet _that_ ’ll take you all day,” he said.

Isaac gave him a playful shove and got up off the floor. Before anything else he would definitely need a shower.

 

 

Erica pulled a face as she poured the less than adequately frothed milk into the coffee cup and put the lid on in haste. She gave the customer a smile as she handed it to him and he just nodded before heading out.

“You doing okay?” Rajanish asked with his usual smile as he brought a tray of dirty cups through to the small bench behind them.

“You know I never gave baristas too much credit for doing what they do but apparently it takes more skill than I’ve got to make the perfect cappuccino,” she said and he laughed to himself. “If that guy comes back I am going out there and you can fix his half-soy double-shot cup of crap.”

Rajanish laughed again, each breath hitching in his throat and making his laugh even sweeter.

“You’re really funny, anyone ever tell you that?” he asked.

“You do, every shift,” she said with a smile that made his ears turn pink.

“I guess I do, huh?” he said, avoiding her eyes. “I better go and uh, you know, these cups won’t wash themselves.”

“No but the dishwasher might,” she said and he laughed again, dropping her gaze once more before taking the tray out back hastily.

Makayla walked out of the kitchen with an eyebrow raised as Rajanish rushed past her and she walked over to Erica with a grin.

“What have you said to that poor boy now?” she asked.

“What? Nothing, I made a joke is all,” she shrugged.

“You must be a comedic genius the way he laughs at your jokes,” she said and this time it was Erica’s turn to blush. “Oh come on, the boy is smitten, and he’s not subtle. He never has been. It’s the sweetest thing ever.”

“Yeah well he is pretty sweet,” Erica said. “My coffees on the other hand… bitter, always bitter.”

Makayla laughed loudly.

“Yes well Mandy likes to say that your coffee is a reflection of your attitude,” she said. “I don’t know that coffee can be fierce but if it could be mine would be.”

“Well that theory sure does make sense,” Erica said.

“You just need practice,” she said. “You can start with this guy, he’s not too fussy.”

Erica sighed as she turned back to the counter. She put on a smile and went about her job, hoping that she would get better at it and fast.

 

 

Stiles sat up on his bed, tapping his pencil against the book in his lap as he pressed the phone to his ear.

“Okay, but hear me out on this one,” he said with a smile on his lips.

“I’m hearing you Stiles, you make it impossible not to,” Derek said with a contented sigh.

“I’m just saying, you probably have the money to do it,” he said. “Would it be so bad to invest in a small apartment, maybe by the coast…you know, somewhere I could get some time alone―”

“Oh so this is all about you?” Derek said.

“Don’t do that,” Stiles said. “You know I would only want time alone when you weren’t staying there with me. Which I hope would be most of the time.”

“Stiles…”

“Don’t do _that_ either,” Stiles said. “How is it that you’re so good at talking your way out of things?”

“Practice,” he said. “And you’re pretty easy to talk around.”

“Easier when I’m with you, harder over the phone,” he said.

“Maybe.”

“Sounds like when I’m trying to talk you around,” Stiles said quietly, dropping his book and pencil to the floor.

“ _Stiles_ …” Derek said again.

“Come on, you don’t have to say anything, I just want to hear you,” Stiles said, his hand rubbing slowly over the front of his pants.

“You can’t wait a few days?” Derek asked.

“I don’t even think I can wait a few minutes if we’re being honest,” he said as his hand slipped under his waistband and he let out a slow sigh.

Derek chuckled to himself and stretched out a little more as he lay in the large bed in his room. Stiles was always insistent and as much as Derek found it irritating, he also felt the urge within him to follow his lead.

“Derek?” Stiles asked as Derek palmed the bulge growing in his jeans.

“I’m listening,” he said.

“I wish you were here,” Stiles murmured. “You know it could be kind of hot to do it in the dorm room.”

Derek smirked to himself.

“You really do want the whole college experience don’t you?” he said.

“I swear Derek if you start an argument right now I will _walk_ down to Beacon Hills and beat your little werewolf ass,” he said and felt the heat wash over his skin as Derek laughed.

“I’d like to see you try,” he purred.

“I bet you would,” Stiles said, breathing in sharply as his fingers wrapped around his stiffening length. “You seem to really like it when I tell you what to do.”

Derek scoffed, his hand moving a little faster as his eyes slowly closed.

“You’re not saying a whole lot…” Stiles murmured.

“I don’t need to… you talk enough for the both of us,” Derek said back.

“Really? Now?” Stiles said, a shiver running over his skin at the sound of Derek’s voice through the phone.

“I’m not saying stop,” he said. “You know I like it.”

Stiles let out a gentle moan, his wrist pumping a little faster.

“ _God_ I wish you were here,” he said with a little hitch in his throat.

He could hear Derek’s heavy breathing through the line as his eyes closed and he spread his knees a little further apart.

“Two more days… two more days and you’ll be here,” he said. “Got any plans?”

“A few…” Derek said in a strung out breath and Stiles’ groan came out louder than he meant it to.

“You don’t even have to tell me what they are for me to know that I’m going to like them…” he said. “ _Fuck_ Derek…”

Derek stayed silent as he heard Stiles’ groaning get more intense, waiting only a few more moments before he knew the crescendo had found him and the sound of it pushing him over not long after.

A few moments later, once both had a chance to catch their breath Stiles chuckled a little to himself.

“You know I never pictured yourself as the kind of guy to do this sort of thing,” he said and he could just see the exasperated look that he knew would be plastered on Derek’s face.

“I’m sure I’ve told you before that you bring out the worst in me,” he grumbled.

“I miss you,” Stiles said softly.

Derek sighed.

“I know.”

“You could always come up a few days earlier,” Stiles said with a grin in his words.

“You have exams in just over a week, you don’t need the extra distraction,” he said.

“Maybe not, but after exams I’ll be back home for the break, nothing you can distract me from then,” he said.

“Yes, but until then you need to focus, end your semester on a good note.”

“I guess you’ve got the old ‘you’ll thank me one day’ thing up your sleeve,” Stiles said.

“You never know, you might,” he said.

“Okay, thanks _dad_ ,” Stiles grumbled.

“You know it’s true.”

“You know some people like being called―”

“I’m hanging up on you now,” Derek said and felt a dull ache in his chest as he heard Stiles’ laugh come through the receiver.

“I love you,” he said.

“You too.”

“See you in two days then,” he said.

Stiles sighed as he hung up the phone, reaching for a tissue to clean himself up before zipping up his jeans and rolling onto his stomach.

“Two days,” he said to himself. “I can do that.”

 

 

“So,” Danny said as he snapped his suitcase shut. “Are you ready to go back?”

Jackson glared over at him for a moment before zipping his own suitcase up with a slow sigh.

“You know what, maybe,” he said. “It’s been a long time.”

“Has it been _enough_ time?” Danny asked and Jackson threw one of the hotel pillows at him. “Hey, I’ve told you before, it’s not fair if you do that because your reflexes are much quicker than mine.”

“Deal with it Danny,” he said. “If you’re dragging me back it had better be.”

“’Dragging you back’,” Danny said with a shake of his head. “Like I could force you to do anything.”

“I’m sure you could try,” Danny said with a look at him that he returned with a raised eyebrow.

“Should we just get this damn thing over with?”

“You mean the flight?” Danny said, Jackson’s grumbly demeanour a constant source of amusement. “You once we arrive you’ll be happy to be home.”

“So you keep saying,” Jackson said.

“Well be patient and you’ll find out soon if I’m right or if I’ve been lying the whole time,” he said with a laugh. “Now shut up and stop sulking.”

Jackson rolled his eyes but he didn’t say anything else, he just packed up silently until they were out the door.

“You worried that things will have changed back home?” Danny asked as they got into the elevator. “I mean like werewolf-wise.”

“Things never really change,” Jackson said. “People come to visit and try to kill us but that’s still not really a change.”

“You’re so blasé about the whole thing,” Danny said. “It’s weird.”

Jackson scoffed, “Please, what’s weird is that you knew about it for so long before you said anything.”

“Yeah, because I was just going to come out with it to Ethan like ‘hey, you’re a werewolf, that’s pretty hot, anyway back to physics’,” he said. “That’s normal.”

“What part of any of this is normal?” Jackson asked and Danny just shrugged. “You talk to him much?”

“Who, Ethan?”

“No, idiot, the Easter bunny,” Jackson said. “Yes Ethan.”

“You are extra cranky today, we skype sometimes, Facebook, you know,” he said.

“Oh you skype huh? I hope you do that when I’m not in the room.”

“Not like that,” Danny said as the two walked out into the lobby.

“So you think werewolves are hot then?”

“You know if your head gets any bigger I don’t think they’ll let you on the plane.”

 

It was almost the end of Erica’s shift and she was pretty damn glad for it. She’d only been working for a short time but it felt like she was never going to get the hang of the whole thing.

Not to mention she was going to kill Isaac if he came down and laughed at her trying to work the damn machine again.

She took a moment away from it all, wiping down the front counter slowly.

As the bell jingled over the door a scent wafted in that was instantly recognisable and she froze in her movements, looking up as the stranger walked towards her.

There was no mistaking it, the stranger was a werewolf.

“Welcome to the coffee stop,” Erica said as she approached the counter. “What can I get for you?”

She eyed her cautiously as the stranger shrugged.

“Not sure I’ve made up my mind yet,” she said, eyes moving slowly to the menu on the wall while Erica didn’t take her eyes off her.

“Take your time,” she said.

After a moment of contemplation she looked back to Erica.

“I’ll just take a latte thanks,” she said and Erica nodded, taking a step to her left to start making it.

“So, I haven’t seen you around before,” Erica said slowly. “Are you new in town?”

The stranger smiled.

“I got here yesterday,” she said. “I’m looking for someone.”

Erica gave her a smile and just nodded as she brewed the coffee.

“Maybe you can help me with that,” she said and Erica looked up cautiously.

“Why is that?” she said. “You think we might have… mutual friends?”

The stranger smiled.

“Something like that,” she said. “I’m looking for someone called Derek Hale.”

Erica tried to keep everything in check, staying cool and just shaking her head slowly as she looked back down at the coffee.

“I can’t help you find him,” she said.

“Is that because you’ve never met him?”

Erica looked up again, knowing that she was asking questions to try and test her for a lie.

“I’m not the right person to help you,” she said.

The stranger eyed her a little longer and then said nothing until Erica was asking her for the cash for her coffee.

“You’ve never heard of Derek Hale?” she asked again.

“Like I said, I can’t help you,” Erica said slowly.

“Thanks for the coffee,” she said before turning and heading straight out the door.

Erica watched her until she was out of sight and then finally released her breath.

“Are you okay?” she jumped a little as Rajanish paused beside her. “Sorry, you just, you look a little rattled.”

“Yeah, no, I’m fine,” she said. “You mind if I make a quick call?”

“Sure, yeah, go ahead, you’re sure you’re okay?” he asked again.

“I’m fine I just need to make a call, that’s all,” she said as she hurried out the back.

She took out her phone and hurriedly dialled Isaac’s number.

“Come on, pick up you asshole,” she mumbled as it rang and rang and rang.

“Hey Erica, what’s going on?”

“Isaac?”

“No, it’s Scott, Isaac’s busy, what’s up?”

“He better be clothed,” she said.

“I’m cooking! Get your mind out of the gutter!” Isaac called out from somewhere in the background. “Well, I’m at least attempting to cook.”

“We’re domestic now, didn’t you know?” Scott said with a grin and Erica rolled her eyes with a frustrated grunt.

“Yes, I know, the two of you are the most domesticated wolves I know,” she said. “Speaking of, I just met one who didn’t exactly seem as domestic as the rest of us.”

“What? Another wolf in Beacon Hills?” Isaac asked.

“Yes Isaac, that’s what I said isn’t it?” she hissed. “And that’s not what I’m calling about, she was asking for Derek.”

“So much for a quiet year,” Isaac muttered in the background.

“I can hear you idiot,” she said. “I still have like an hour left of my shift but I just wanted to call and ask if either of you’ve been approached by someone asking for Derek.”

“No, no I haven’t seen any other werewolves since Aiden and Ethan left after prom,” Scott said.

“That’s good I guess,” she said. “Let me call Derek, I’ll let you guys know what happens after my shift.”

“Okay,” Scott said.

“Be careful!” Isaac called again.

Erica hung up quickly and dialled Derek’s number, he picked up on the third ring.

“I thought you were supposed to be working,” he said.

“Nice to hear from you too Derek,” she said. “Can you be slightly less you for a second? I have to tell you something.”

“What’s wrong? Are you alright?” he asked immediately.

“I’m fine, just someone came by here looking for you before, someone like us,” she said.

“Did you recognise her?”

“No, I’ve never seen her before, but she was trying to get me to slip up and somehow admit that I know you.”

“You’re sure she was―”

“Derek, I’m sure.”

He ran a hand through his hair, it could never just run smoothly.

“Keep an eye out, I want to know if you see her again, and where,” he said.

“I’ll let you know,” she said. “I don’t know if she knew for sure that I know you, but I guess the odds are that one werewolf in a town like this is going to at least know _of_ the others.”

“Be careful, okay?” he said.

“I will.”

She tucked her phone away as she headed back out the front.

“Sorry, just something I remembered and I wanted to make the call before I forgot,” she said with a smile.

“Happens to me all the time,” he said with a smile.

She shot one right back and got to work, hoping the last hour would go by as fast as possible.

Once her shift was over she headed to Scott and Isaac’s place where Isaac had most definitely burned something in his cooking endeavours and had clearly given up for the evening because when she arrived they had just ordered pizzas.

They both asked her questions about the girl in the coffee shop but Erica didn’t have many answers to give. The last thing she wanted was to give anything away to her, and she knew that the more she asked the more she would unintentionally do so.

She stayed at Isaac and Scott’s that night, they made up the sofa bed for her and even with headphones in her ears she could still head the sound of their headboard banging against the wall.

She chastised them for it in the morning of course, to which Scott blushed and Isaac grinned quite proudly.

She had another day of work ahead, thankfully this time it was only a shorter shift.

Makayla talked her ear off about something trivial going on in her circle of friends and Erica wished she could be more interested, and maybe a day ago she would have been.

Derek had promised her a driving lesson that evening, she was close to taking her test and getting her own licence. It wasn’t so much about the car and the driving, she just wanted to finally say that she had accomplished something.

When her shift was over she headed home to collect a few things before making her way to the loft.

Derek was in his usual spot at the table just reading one of his books, he must have ready through at least a hundred in the year alone.

“How do you stand it?” she asked as she dumped her bag of belongings by the couch. “Aren’t they all the same?”

He smiled as he snapped the book shut with one hand.

“That’s pretty unlikely,” he said.

“Is it though? I mean when you think about it every book is just full of the same twenty-six letters repeated over and over in no logical order with various punctuation spread through it, there’s got to be at least a few that are pretty similar.”

“Maybe you should start writing,” he said. “You seem to be poetic enough.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Please, I don’t have enough patience to sit down and think for long periods of time, why do you think I don’t read either?”

He shook his head and got up to get his keys.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? What with someone asking around town for you and all,” Erica said as he tossed them over to her.

“If they’re asking around town then someone is bound to tell them eventually,” he said.

They headed out in the car and took a drive through the familiar streets, the sun setting slowly. When she wasn’t nervous she was actually quite a good driver, even if she did err on the side of caution.

As darkness fell they made their way back to loft and Erica made a perfect park in Derek’s usual spot.

When she stepped out of the car a familiar smell hit her nose and she whispered Derek’s name as if it would help, but he could smell it too.

She stood close by him as they walked towards the building and Erica let out a little growl as she saw the back of the girl she had seen at the coffee shop only a day earlier.

“I guess you could have told me where to find him if you’d wanted to,” she said without turning around.

“What do you want?” Erica asked, her claws extending by her sides.

As the girl turned to face them Erica felt Derek stiffen beside her and she looked up to see the shock on his face.

“Derek?” she said but his jaw just dropped as he stared at the girl before him. “Derek do you know her?”

“I guess you could say we used to know each other,” she said, her gaze never dropping from his incredulous stare.

“ _Derek_?” Erica hissed.

“Erica this is… this is Cora, my sister.”

Erica’s jaw almost hit the floor as the words rolled off his tongue, instead she just stared over at her and wondered why the hell she was seeing someone who was supposed to be dead.


	9. Chapter Eight: Promises

**_Chapter Eight:_ ** _Promises_

They all seemed to stand in stunned silence for a moment, Erica looking from one to the other before she finally snapped out of it.

“Okay, hold on, I thought your younger sister was _dead_ ,” she said. “You’re telling me that _this_ is your sister?”

“I thought…” Derek began but he seemed to have trouble finding his words. “They found your body.”

Cora shook her head, “I got out just in time, and I ran.”

“Where…Wha― you’ve been gone for…”

“Eight years, I know, long time,” she said. “I was ten when it happened and mom told me to run, so I did.”

“Why didn’t you come back?” he asked.

“Uh, guys?” Erica said quietly.

“I didn’t think anyone survived, even if they got out,” she said. “I heard others talking about a pack being back in Beacon Hills, led by a Hale. I thought when I got here that it would be Laura.”

“Laura’s dead,” Derek said with a shake of his head.

“I figured as much, I don’t really know what I was expecting to find but when I got closer I started hearing your name and I figured you’d be the last one left.”

“Almost,” Derek said.

“Okay I know this is a touching little family reunion but can we please go upstairs before opening _that_ box?” Erica said.

Derek just nodded, never really taking his eyes off Cora as they headed up to the loft.

“This is where you live?” Cora asked as she took in her surroundings, her nose twitching as she inhaled the different scents of the place.

“It’s better than when he was living in that burned out of house,” Erica said and both of them just looked at her. “Sorry, was that… I mean, too soon?”

“I’ve had eight years to come to terms with the fact that someone burned down my home with my family in it so I don’t think it’s _that_ soon,” Cora said.

“I’ll go make some tea or something, anything else really,” Erica said as she made her way to the kitchen.

“Smells like you’ve got quite a few in your pack,” Cora said, she and Derek standing at opposite sides of the room to one another. “I think I might have met one of them.”

“Where?” Derek asked.

“Phoenix,” she said. “He never mentioned your name but he was a wolf from Beacon Hills who seemed reluctant to tell me all that much about himself.”

“Boyd? You met Boyd?” Erica asked, walking in from the kitchen to again meet two very similar looks to before. “I mean…milk in your tea? Or you know, blood? The tears of children?”

“Erica,” Derek snapped and she rolled her eyes as she headed back in.

“I think it was him, big guy, looking for a girl,” she said. “I knew the rumours of a pack had to be true after that, everyone knows you don’t go blabbing your pack secrets to the world, even if you are going rogue.”

“Where have you been all this time?” he asked.

“South America mostly, there’s a pack there who used to know mom and they heard what happened and took me in, kept me safe,” she said. “Last year we heard rumours that there was a strong pack forming in Beacon Hills, like I said, my first thought was that Laura was alive and running it.”

“She died nearly two years ago, when she came back,” he said, leaning against the edge of the table.

Erica made a scoffing sound from the kitchen and Derek shot her a glare.

“I’m going to assume that it wasn’t an accident then,” Cora said and Derek looked down at his hands. “I’m not a ten year old anymore, what happened?”

“You weren’t the only one to survive the fire,” Derek began, launching into the story of what had happened to Peter in that house, and what led him to kill his niece in lust for power.

Somewhere in the middle of the story Erica leant on the bench in the kitchen to listen in, never really having heard it all straight from Derek’s lips.

Cora stayed stoic, giving him the occasional nod as she took in his words and giving nothing away.

“I don’t know where he is now, but I wouldn’t put much effort into finding out either,” Derek said.

“Sounds like there’s been a lot happening here since I’ve been gone,” she said.

The town was never quiet, even when you were here last,” Derek said.

“Then I’ve got a lot to catch up on,” she said.

“So… you’re staying then?” Erica asked. “Like, indefinitely?”

“For now,” she said with a look over at Erica.

She knew that she was Derek’s sister and that she shouldn’t be untrusting because it made sense that she would want to come back to the family she thought was dead, but there was something about her that she just didn’t like.

“There’s a spare room upstairs, where have you been staying?” Derek asked and Erica raised an eyebrow at him.

“Whoa, hold on, she’s back for like ten minutes and you’re inviting her to stay? Here?” she said before she could stop herself. “I know she’s your sister but come on, you should know better than to trust old family members who show up out of the blue.”

“ _Erica_ ,” Derek growled.

“Am I wrong though?” she said. “She’s been in South America for what, eight years?”

“I’m standing right here,” Cora said as she and Erica exchanged a cautious glance.

“Yeah, and is that really a good idea?”

“Erica enough,” Derek said. “I never said I would give her a key, I asked if she needed a place to stay.”

“Thank you,” Cora said with a look back towards Erica. “Relax, I get it. I wouldn’t trust me either.”

Erica scowled a little before they were both turning to Derek.

“You’re welcome to stay,” he said to Cora and Erica made a sound to his left. “And you’re welcome to go if you don’t like my decision.”

She just narrowed her eyes and walked slowly towards the door.

“Do you ever take advice from anyone who’s not Stiles?” she said before heading out.

Derek sighed to himself and Cora just watched her go.

“Is she always like that?” she asked.

“She’s just worried, she’s seen what kind of things can happen when you trust people from your past without questioning it,” he said. “She’ll come round.”

“I know it doesn’t mean a lot, I mean words are just words…” she said, her expression softening. “I came back because I thought that I might have some family still alive, I haven’t seen anyone from home since the fire. I just… If there was a chance…”

He got up and walked slowly towards her.

She looked so much like the girl he had left behind, the one he had never had the chance to say goodbye to. There was something missing though, probably the same thing that he had lost in the fire.

When she had first stood outside his door she had looked stronger, like all the fear had gone from her, never to come back. The girl standing feet from him now looked like it had found her again.

And he felt afraid too, afraid that he had found his sister and that maybe he would lose her again. That was the thing with loss, once you had felt it there was no greater fear than that of having it come back.

He slowly reached out to her and she eased into his arms as their brief embrace became warmer and she held him tighter. She breathed in a choked breath as she listened to his heart beating through his chest and he closed his eyes.

“I can’t believe you’re alive…” she said as the tears fell from her eyes. “All this time I just assumed you were dead.”

“We left for a long time,” he said. “There was nothing left here.”

“I know what your beta said was right, you have no reason to trust me and I don’t expect you to,” she said. “It’s been eight years…”

“You’re welcome here, any time, you’re not Peter,” he said.

“You don’t know that for sure,” she said. “I want to earn your trust, like any of your other betas. I smell three, maybe more?”

He stepped back and folded his arms.

“Four, five if you include the one Peter turned, eight if you include the humans,” he said. “Well, two of them are human.”

Cora raised an eyebrow, “I guess I’ll find out later?”

“Most of them are away for now, high schools over.”

“Did you want to get the blonde one back?” Cora said. “She seemed a little pissed.”

“She needs to calm down, she’ll be back,” he said. “She has a temper.”

“So what you’re saying is that we’re going to be great friends,” she said, shuffling her feet.

“Still a hot-heat then?” Derek asked.

“Some things you just don’t grow out of,” she said.

“Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” she said and he gestured to the door so they could head out together.

 

 

Isaac lay back on the bed and pulled Scott down over him, their lips colliding and their hips brushing over one another.

Scott was pulling up Isaac’s shirt as Scott was reaching down to unbuckle Scott’s belt but they were interrupted by the ringing of Isaac’s cell phone.

Scott grunted and turned to look at the damn thing as Isaac just put his hand to the back of Scott’s neck and pulled him back down to nip at his bottom lip.

“Aren’t you going to answer it?” Scott asked.

“If it’s urgent, they’ll call back,” he said as he rolled his hips upward and trailed his lips down Scott’s neck.

Scott moaned little and dipped his head to catch Isaac’s lips with his own as he gave a few steady thrusts downwards against the heat of Isaac’s lap.

After a few moments the phone stopped ringing, I took just as long for it to start up again.

Isaac grunted in frustration and Scott sat up to let him get it.

“Erica, what’s going on?” he said.

“I need to talk to you guys, can I come over?” she asked.

“Can you do it in like an hour?” he asked.

“I’m already here, come open the door,” she said.

Isaac sighed as he hung up and turned back to look at Scott.

“I take it you heard that?” he said.

“Oh yeah, I heard it,” he said.

“You need a minute?” Isaac said as he eyed him over with a smirk.

“I will if you keep looking at me like that,” he said.

Isaac sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed, “I’m going to kill her.”

He made his way to the front door and stood occupying all the space in the entrance as Erica took a step forward, ending up nose to nose with him.

She gave him a look and he just looked down at her with his eyebrows high.

“Can we help you?” he asked.

“Well for starters you can let me the hell in,” she said with a jab to his ribs as she ducked under his arm to head into their small home.

“That’s alright, come on in,” he said with a sarcastic drawl as Scott walked out of the bedroom to lean against the wall.

“Don’t be sassy with me, _believe me_ , you’re going to want to hear this,” she said as she paced the living room. “Remember how I said someone came around asking for Derek?”

“You mean one of your other _many_ interruptions?” Isaac asked and Scott gave him a look that made him huff and fold his arms.

“Why? What’s going on Erica?” Scott asked.

“Well, turns out he knows her, _well_ , I mean, really _freaking well_ ,” she said, still walking in circles about the living room.

“Jealous ex-girlfriend maybe?” Isaac said dryly and Erica waved her hand dismissively.

“No, that’s more your thing,” she said without missing a beat and Isaac gave her a low growl. “Okay, okay, low blow I know.”

“Erica just tell us what you know,” Scott said.

She sighed and stopped to turn and face them both with her arms both folded over her chest.

“Not an ex-girlfriend, more like another not-so-dead relative. You just can’t get rid of a Hale apparently… nine lives or something.”

“Erica spit it out,” Isaac said. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Derek’s sister is alive,” she said.

“What?” Scott said, the furrow in his brow appearing as if from nothing.

“What? Laura?” Isaac asked.

“No, she’s definitely dead… I mean, for now anyway… Cora, his younger sister,” she said.

“She’s alive?”Scott repeated and she rolled her eyes.

“Yes Scott, alive, walking, talking, the whole thing,” she said. “All I know about her is that she survived the fire by living with some pack in South America. Eight years she’s been gone and she only comes back now? Why?”

“Erica, you’re pacing again,” Isaac said with a hand to his forehead.

“Well wouldn’t you be agitated? _Aren’t_ you?” she said.

“She probably thought he was dead too,” Scott said. “I mean can you really blame her for wanting to come and find her family after thinking they all died all that time ago? No matter how long it’s been and despite… you know, not really knowing each other anymore?”

This time Isaac’s brow furrowed, “she has a point though, why should we be complacent about it? Look at how far that’s gotten us before, I mean I should know.”

“Don’t go telling Derek you agree with me, he’ll kick you out,” she muttered.

“He kicked you out?” Isaac asked in surprise.

“Kind of, I was voicing my opinion on how we should be at least a little curious and he did _not_ like that,” she said.

“That doesn’t sound like Derek _at all_ ,” Isaac said. “You? An opinion? You’re being _completely_ unreasonable.”

“Oh come on,” Scott said. “If you get any more sarcasm in here none of us are going to fit, and you’re not being totally fair. He’s just found out that his sister is alive, can he be happy before you guys start telling him all the reasons why he shouldn’t trust her?”

They both looked over at him with the same questioning expressions on their faces.

“Really? You’re the one defending him?” Erica said. “You’re always up for bitching about Derek and you’re… siding with him?”

“She’s not wrong,” Isaac said.

“You could say the same about the two of you!” Scott said and they both just gave each other a glance.

Scott sighed with exasperation written on his face.

“All I’m saying is that he knows his family and if he wants to trust her who can really blame him? He probably knows that he could wind up hurt from it but come on guys, at least let him be happy for a _day_.”

Isaac and Erica gave one another one last unconvinced glance before she was rolling her eyes.

“Whatever, can I crash here for a few hours? I don’t really want to go back there just yet,” she said as she fell back down into the couch.

“Sure, it’s not like you’d leave if we said no anyway,” Isaac said.

“Hilarious, you guys hungry?” she asked.

“Not for food,” Isaac mumbled.

“I’m starving,” Scott said.

“She will never leave if you keep feeding her,” Isaac said.

“Funny, that’s what Stiles’ dad used to say about you,” she said.

“Wait,” Scott said and they both looked up from their bickering. “Stiles, has anyone told him yet?”

“I figure Derek will,” Erica said. “I don’t really want to be the one to break that news to him, can you imagine Derek calling him to let him know and it turns out he’s already been told? By _me_? He would definitely kill me.”

“I don’t know why but you seem to be making more sense than usual tonight,” Isaac said and Scott sighed.

He knew she was right, he just hoped that Derek told him soon.

 

 

Boyd had finally made his way into Portland, only a mile or so off from the state university campus.

He was visiting a small inn near the grounds that Daisy had stayed when she had been with the other pack. She had loved staying there among the buzzing hive of education and youth.

She had told Boyd once of a dream she had to finish her high school education and maybe go on to study something at university. She didn’t know what, she just wanted to learn, to grow with the nourishment of knowledge and all that came with it.

As it was, she couldn’t afford anything of the likes on her own and Katherine was only interested in funding activities that assisted her needs, so Daisy kept that dream as it was and used it to imagine what things could have been like.

It was possible that she had left to seek something of the likes, and Boyd held on to the little bit of hope he had that it would be true.

He sat down at the bar and asked if they had a room available, which they did, and he paid for one night’s stay.

“Haven’t seen you around before,” the waitress said with a pretty grin on her face. “You just get to town?”

“Uh, I’ve been in and out of a few places,” he said. “I’m trying not to stay in the same place for too long.”

“You afraid you’ll settle?” she asked as she topped up his drink.

“No, I’m just looking for something,” he said, looking down at his hands a moment. “Someone actually.”

The waitress nodded a little.

“A girl?” she asked and he nodded. “You push her away a little too much and now you’re doing anything to get her back.”

He smiled to himself.

“That would probably be easier,” he said. “I just need to find her, I just want to know that she’s okay. I heard she liked it here when she stayed.”

The waitress flicked her dish towel over her shoulder and folded her arms.

“Well come on, you got a picture?” she said. “A guy doesn’t talk about a girl like that and _not_ have a picture. I’ve been here two years, might be able to help.”

He took out his ever-withering picture and handed it to her. The more places he visited and the more people he showed the worse the image seemed to get.

He worried that it would disintegrate in his hands or be put through the laundry when he was too tired to think about it before he even got close to finding her.

She squinted down at the picture, holding it on a few different angles to avoid the glare from the cheap fluorescent lights.

“I think I do know her,” she said and Boyd had to do a double take.

“I’m sorry, what?”

He was so used to hearing phrases like ‘sorry, never seen her before’ that he was going to need to hear it again to believe it.

“Yeah, yeah, I mean she’s a lot older now than she looks in this picture but I recognise that pretty face,” she said. “She was staying here like a month or two ago with a friend, couldn’t have stayed more than a week though.”

“That long ago?” he asked. “Who was she staying with?”

“I don’t know, I never saw them,” she said. “They just needed a room to sleep two and she helped us out behind the bar a couple nights to help pay for it, if you wanted you could do that too.”

“She didn’t say where she was going?” he asked.

“Sorry, I don’t really remember,” she said regretfully. “All she said was that she wished she could stay longer but that they had to keep moving, you’re not like… stalking her or something are you?”

“I wish you were the first one to ask me that,” he said and she looked a little guilty. “She just… she did something similar to me is all. One minute she was there and the next she was gone.”

“Maybe she likes being lost,” she said. “I get that, if I had the balls I would totally lose myself and travel around hotel-hopping.”

Boyd gave her a smile.

“A month ago you think she was here?”

“Wish I could say it was last week but it was probably closer to two months gone,” she said.

Her scent would be long gone from the place by now. In a bar where hundreds of people come through every week there was no way any part of her was lingering.

He felt a little unease inside him at the thought she was staying with someone else. He didn’t know who he was or where she had met him, but maybe it was better her having company than being alone.

Still, the sting of not being asked to accompany her was stronger than it had been before the day had begun.

He couldn’t be that far behind her though could he? There was no way he was travelling weeks slower than her, unless the waitress was right. Maybe Daisy wanted to be lost and was doing her best to make sure she couldn’t be found.

Maybe it was time to give up.

 

 

Stiles walked through the campus quad with half an apple in hand, almost the entire other half in his mouth as he dialled Derek’s number.

Thank god he didn’t pick up, he wouldn’t have had the air to speak with if he hadn’t been granted a few moments to actually chew his food.

“Stop reading through that library of yours for like the fifteenth time and pick up, one day Derek, _one day_. I mean I know you remember that you’re coming up early this week, remember? No classes this Friday?” he said. “Anyway, you probably won’t listen to this but if you do, I am totally working on a new schedule for us, you are going to be pretty impressed. Love you, see you in less than twenty-four hours.”

With that he hung up the phone and took another large bite out of his apple.

He then hit dial on Kyle’s number and put the phone to his ear.

“Hey what’s up?” he heard after the first two rings.

“Hey dude, where are you?” he said as he chewed away.

“I’m in the library, are you eating and trying to talk again?”

“Of course,” he said.

“How many times have I asked you not to call me with your mouth full?” Kyle asked with a quiet laugh.

“Could be worse,” Stiles said with a grin. “I could have called you with my _mouth full_.”

“You always have to take it a step too far, don’t you?” Kyle laughed.

“You know I can’t let the opportunity pass by,” he said. “Come on, finish your studying and let’s do something.”

“Can’t, I’m about to meet with my study group,” he said.

“Is this your super-secret second year study group you’re always hanging out with _without_ me?”

He heard Kyle laugh loudly through the receiver.

“That’s the one,” he said. “I’ll come and meet you later and we can get some food.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Give me a call when you’re done then.”

Kyle agreed and they both hung up.

“What the hell is with everyone today?” Stiles said to himself as he took a seat in the shade and pulled one of his course readings from his bag.

 

 

The next morning Scott and Isaac were up early with Erica as the three made their way to the loft to see Derek and the new arrival.

They had barely stood by his door a moment before he was out to meet them, Cora standing not far behind him.

“It’s true then?” Scott asked and Derek rolled his eyes. “She’s your sister?”

“She is,” Derek said. “And before you ask, yes, I’m sure.”

“Are you?” Isaac said and Derek just turned to him with a look.

“Isaac,” Scott said quietly.

“Told you,” Cora said from behind him with a brief roll of her eyes and Erica scoffed.

Isaac’s eyes moved towards her and let out a small chuckle, unfolding his arms and walking towards them.

“She has the same exasperated look as he does,” he said. “If she’s not his sister she’s still got to be a Hale.”

He held his hand out to Cora and she just gazed at it a moment before look back to his face with caution in her eyes.

“Isaac,” he said and reluctantly she took it.

“Cora,” she said.

“This is Scott,” he said and Scott stepped forward to greet her. “And I hear you’ve already met Erica.”

Isaac had a grin on his lips as Erica turned up her nose and let out another derisive noise.

“We’ve had the pleasure,” Cora said.

“Don’t think this means I’m just going to trust her,” Isaac said as he turned back to Derek. “I mean I believe she’s your sister but your family members have proved less than reliable in the past.”

“I don’t expect you to trust her,” Derek said. “At least not yet.”

“Okay, I’m going to be the one to point this out _again_ ,” Erica said. “Can we _please_ take this party inside? Why are we always doing this on your damn door step.”

“You’ll get used to her,” Scott said with a warm smile towards Cora.

“So I’ve been told,” she said as they made their way inside.

Isaac’s brow furrowed, he wasn’t sure how he and Scott had swapped their roles but Scott seemed to be exhibiting less than his usual level of caution and Isaac more so.

“Did you hear Jackson’s on his way home?” Erica said quietly to him as Scott asked Cora a few questions about South America.

“I thought I saw Danny post something about being homebound on Facebook,” he said.

“He also instagrammed a picture of Jackson’s middle finger in the airport,” she said. “I guess he’ll be back sometime this weekend.”

“Could be back now,” he said.

“Let’s give him some time to get over his jet-lag before we call him, god knows he won’t want to be disturbed when he’s in a bad mood.”

“True,” Isaac said, still watching Scott with questions building on his tongue. “She seems more talkative than Derek.”

“Not by much,” Erica said. “I have to get to work soon, you going to stick around?”

“Maybe,” he said. “This is all too weird.”

“To be fair we should be used to people coming back from the dead,” she said.

“We should stop assuming people are dead in the first place.”

She nodded before heading towards the stairs, her work clothes were still in her room upstairs. Derek watched her a moment before his eyes fell back to Cora.

She had only been back for a day but already her scent was starting to linger around the loft, not quite familiar but not so new anymore either.

Derek found it odd that out of the three of them Scott was the one to seem least cautious of her arrival. It wasn’t as though he had any real reason to place trust in her and yet he tried harder to make her feel welcome with his questions than Isaac or Erica did with their vigilant glances and hushed conversation.

When Erica came back down she stood at the bottom of the stairs with her arms folded over her chest.

“Anyone who can give me a lift?” she asked.

“I’ll drive you,” Derek said. “We were going for a drive anyway.”

Erica looked over at Cora again and just shrugged.

“Fine,” she said, acting like it was a burden to be spending any more time with her than she had to.

“Have you told Stiles yet?” Isaac asked.

Derek sighed and looked down at his hands.

“I have to call him back,” he said.

“Are you freaking kidding?” Erica said. “You seriously haven’t called him?”

“I have to postpone my visit,” he said. “He’s not going to like it.”

“No shit,” Isaac muttered.

“He’ll understand though,” Scott said. “You’re just making it worse by waiting though.”

“Can we go?” Erica said impatiently. “And call him as soon as you drop me off, don’t be a dick about it.”

“Erica…” Scott said and Isaac gave him another look.

“I don’t know what I just stepped into but it feels like more is going on here than any of you are saying,” Cora said. “I’ll wait in the car.”

As she left Derek looked to each of them.

“If you’ve got something more to say do it now,” he said.

“You know what I’ve got to say,” Erica said.

“I’m with her, weird as that is,” Isaac said.

“I think they’re being too harsh,” Scott said. “But you should definitely call him now because you know he’s been waiting two weeks to see you.”

It felt trivial to be saying it when Derek had been waiting years to see his sister again but it didn’t make it any less the truth.

“Wait in the car, I’ll meet you in a minute,” Derek said, taking his phone from his pocket and looking at the missed calls.

He felt terrible for what he had to do but after some time, probably at least a day or two, Stiles would forgive him for it.

“Come on,” Erica said to Scott and Isaac. “Let’s leave him to it.”

“You know you’re being a bigger bitch about this than I thought you would be,” Scott said as they made their way out.

“Oh bite me Scott,” she snapped back.

Derek hit the phone icon by Stiles’ name and put the phone to his ear as he waited for him to pick up, he wasn’t one to feel much of anything but when it came to Stiles he felt it all.

“Don’t tell me you’re here already?” Stiles’ voice greeted him after only a couple of rings and Derek just sighed a little. “I highly doubt you got up _that_ early.”

“Stiles,” Derek said and he just heard him chuckle through the line.

“Alright, okay, what’s going on?” he asked.

“I need to talk to you about something, it can’t wait,” he said.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” Stiles asked, the worry already laden in his voice. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“Stiles, just calm down a second, everything is fine,” he said. “Don’t start panicking, I just have to tell you something.”

“Okay… Still a little more ominous than I’d like but okay,” he said. “What’s going on Derek?”

Derek sighed. “Cora’s alive.”

Stiles stood in silence for a moment trying to wonder if what he had just heard was even possible.

“I’m sorry, what? Did I hear you right?” he asked. “Your sister Cora? Died in the fire Cora? _That_ Cora?”

“She’s alive Stiles, she came back home,” he said.

“What… I mean where… wha―” Stiles stammered. “How is that possible?”

“It’s a long story,” he said. “I’ll tell you when I see you but…”

That’s when it clicked to Stiles and he felt his pounding heart sink.

“But you’re not coming out here today,” he finished Derek’s sentence for him.

“The hotel is booked, you can go and stay there, get out of your dorm for a few nights, I just…” Derek said, the disappointment in Stiles’ voice making him ache. “I have to be here right now.”

Stiles knew it was selfish to get angry, selfish of him to think that Derek should come out to visit him anyway but he couldn’t help that those thoughts were swelling up inside him. He swallowed hard in his dry throat but shrugged and shook his head as if Derek could see the obviously forced actions.

“No I… I understand,” he said. “I’m not an asshole, I get it.”

“I never said you would be if you were angry,” Derek said. “I’ll send you the hotel details like always. Order room service or anything else you want, I’m sorry Stiles.”

Stiles shook his head again. “Don’t be, I get it. I’m not just saying I do to get you to feel less guilty I mean I honestly get it okay? Just―” he sighed. “I’ll see you next time I guess.”

“I mean it Stiles, anything you want,” Derek said.

“Don’t you dare, don’t you dare use this to try and start that fight again Derek,” Stiles said. “Look I’ll just… When do you think you’ll be able to make it back out here? I don’t want to sound like a dick because obviously I want you to be with your sister but I’m also not going to deny that I am having very selfish thoughts and I may or may not be punching you in some of them… go, be with her I honestly mean that.”

“You’re―”

“Rambling on and on, I know, but you should know that it’s just the way I deal with things,” he said. “I love you.”

“I love―”

“I know, and I’m sorry I keep cutting you off I just can’t stop,” he said. “Just… let me know when you’re ready to come back again and when you have half a second maybe… you could tell me about her?”

“I promise I’ll make it up to you,” Derek said. “I’ll call you later?”

“Yeah, yeah okay,” Stiles said with a sigh.

As Stiles hung up the phone and dropped down into the closest chair he felt the disappointment sink in. He wished he hadn’t been so excited to see him because he knew that was what made it feel all that much worse.

His phone made a ping as the text from Derek came through with the hotel details.

**Derek:** _Order anything you want, they have my credit card details. I mean it Stiles, anything. Love you._

Stiles felt like he could throw his phone but he managed to restrain himself. On one hand he was angry, upset, frustrated. On the other he was running the thoughts over in his head as to how she could possibly be alive after all this time.

If it wasn’t a few weeks from exams he would have been on the road back to Beacon Hills already but as it was he was probably behind on study already.

He had known this year was going to be hard but he hadn’t expected to feel the way he did.

 

 

Scott had gone home to see his mother, Derek and Cora had dropped Erica at work and then gone for a drive, more sibling bonding to be done Isaac had thought.

He had gone for a walk, trying to get everything straight in his head. Not that many things were straight in his mind these days.

He chuckled to himself and Scott crossed his mind again. He was done thinking and he hadn’t had one of Melissa’s dinners in a while so he thought he would head over there for the afternoon, Scott wouldn’t mind sticking around a few extra hours.

There was an unfamiliar car parked in front of the house when he showed up and for a moment he didn’t pay it much attention until he knocked on the door.

After a moment Scott opened it with a concerned look on his face.

“Isaac, what are you doing here?” he asked and Isaac gave him a confused look.

“Visiting?” Isaac said. “Why is your heart pounding faster than usual?”

“I didn’t think you were coming over is all,” Scott said and Melissa walked past the door with a grin.

“Hey Isaac,” she said. “Why are the two of you hanging out in the doorway, come in.”

Isaac squeezed past Scott and kissed him on the cheek but he couldn’t quite get past Scott’s nervous scent as he walked through into the kitchen. That’s when he noticed the other unfamiliar scent that lingered.

A man sat at the kitchen table with a coffee in hand and wearing a decent suit, looking up at Isaac as he walked in with a tilt of his head.

“Uh… hi,” Isaac said.

“You must be Isaac,” the man said and Isaac raised an eyebrow as he looked over to Scott who now stood leaning up against the archway. “I mean I’m assuming anyway.”

“You assume correctly,” Isaac said. “Sorry, uh… who are you?”

The man smiled and looked over to Scott.

“I guess it must have slipped your mind to tell your boyfriend that your dad was back in town,” he said and Isaac’s jaw dropped almost all the way to the floor.

“Your dad,” Isaac said, turning back to Scott who wasn’t looking up at him.

“Isaac, this is my dad,” he said in a feeble attempt at introduction. “Dad, this is Isaac.”

Mr McCall got up to shake Isaac’s hand and stood only an inch or so taller than him.

“Nice to meet you kid,” he said.

 

 

Erica was getting better at making coffees, she didn’t burn the brew quite as much as she had done when she first started.

“Once you get the hang of frothing the milk I can teach you how to do a few patterns if you like,” Rajanish said as she flinched at the burst of steam.

“You sure do take this coffee thing seriously,” she said as she put the lid on the average cappuccino and put it on the bench for Makayla to give out to the customer.

“In my experience it’s not too smart to get in between a person and their caffeine hit,” he said with a smile. “Plus I like getting tips you know.”

“I guess I better get learning then or I’ll be broke forever,” she said.

“You don’t need to make good coffee to get tips though,” he said and Erica raised an eyebrow at him. “No, no! I didn’t mean… I just meant you’re, I mean you’re beautiful so you… I think I should go and check on the… anything really, sorry.”

She laughed to herself as he rushed out the back and Makayla gave her a look.

“You make him weird like that you know, he’s usually kind of normal,” she said.

“So you say,” she said.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she took a second to check it, knowing perfectly well it was Stiles.

**Stiles:** _He gave me hotel details and said “anything you want”_

**Stiles:** _I am so tired of him saying that!_

**Stiles:** _Is she nice? Pretty? Or are you having as much fun with this whole situation as I am?_

**Stiles:** _Am I wrong to be totally pissed off but also hating myself for being pissed off?_

**Stiles:** _Come on you have to give me something here Erica_

She sighed and took a moment to reply.

**Erica:** _Calm down okay? She just showed up last night and took us all by surprise. You know how long it took him to invite her to stay? Like 2 minutes. I know I’m a bitch because she’s his sister and why shouldn’t she stay with him?_

**Erica:** _And yes obviously she’s pretty she’s Derek’s sister. No missing the fact that they’re related._

**Erica:** _I’d be pissed if I were you. Screw Derek._

**Stiles:** _That was the plan until his sister showed up_

**Stiles:** _Wait, LAST NIGHT? She was there a whole 12 hours before he told me?_

**Stiles:** _I’m suddenly feeling a little less guilty about being pissed off…_

Erica sighed an put her phone back in her pocket as Rajanish came out of the kitchen with a cloth to clean the tables with, his cheeks still flushed with colour.

She didn’t know why Cora’s arrival had made her irrationally angry. At least Stiles had a reason to be mad, Derek had waited the whole night to say anything. All Derek had done to Erica was growl at her for being rude to his sister.

Still she was angry that he would seemingly put aside all concern because she was back. If Peter or even Cassie was anything to go by, no one should be blindly trusted.

 

 

“I’m sorry, okay?” Scott whispered as the two stood upstairs in Scott’s old room.

“You’re _sorry_? You’re sorry that you didn’t tell me that your dad was in town?” Isaac hissed back. “What the hell Scott?”

“I didn’t want to make a big deal about it is―”

“Scott, your dad is back in town, I have _never_ heard you talk about him before and now you’re just blatantly keeping him a secret? Why?” he asked.

“I don’t know, okay? The way things were for you with your day I just―”

“Okay no, you don’t get to put it back on me that you didn’t tell me about this,” Isaac said. “When did he get here?”

Scott sighed and looked up at him a moment before looking back down at his feet.

“Two weeks,” he said and Isaac’s jaw almost hit the floor again.

“How the hell have you kept this a secret from me? Why have you?”

“I don’t know! I just, at first I didn’t want to tell you because I thought he would just be in and out like always but then…”

Then it clicked to Isaac, it made sense why Scott was defending Derek about Cora.

“You want him to stay?” Isaac asked. “You want to give him a chance?”

“You don’t get to give me a hard time about wanting to see my dad,” Scott said. “It took a while before I even decided that I wanted to.”

“Do you really think that’s what I was going to do? Tell you that you’re an idiot for wanting to see him?”

“Well the way you reacted to Cora maybe I was right not to say anything,” Scott said and Isaac scoffed, turning away from him and shaking his head in frustration.

“Are you _kidding_ me? That’s a whole different situation and you know it,” he said.

“Is it though? She’s Derek’s family, he’s mine―”

“She’s a _freaking werewolf_!”

“I don’t want to argue about this,” Scott said.

Isaac sighed.

“You know I would tell you everything,” Isaac said, trying to choose his words wisely because he knew that part of him was being very hypocritical, even if it was against his will. “If there as anything you needed to know I would tell you unless for some reason I couldn’t, there’s no reason why you couldn’t have told me this two weeks ago.”

“Isaac―”

“Were you ashamed of me?”

“What? Of course not!” Scott said. “It wasn’t easy telling him about you but he’s in no place to be an ass about it if he still wants to be a part of my life. I promise you I just…”

“You didn’t think I’d understand,” Isaac finished.

“I wanted you to,” he said.

“Yeah well you never gave me the chance and now I’m just… I need a while to just cool off alright?”

This time it was Scott’s turn to sigh and he just stepped back to let Isaac through the door. When he got downstairs Isaac had already left.

“You want to tell me what that was all about?” Melissa said with an eyebrow high.

“It’s fine mom,” he said before heading back into the kitchen.

 

 

It was almost the end of Erica’s shift when Isaac stormed in, walking up to the counter and leaning his hands on it with a grunt.

“Well you look happy,” she said.

“You got anything with a shot of poison in it?” he asked and she shrugged.

“I can take your order _and_ make your coffee, that’s about as close as you’re going to get.”

“Scott’s dad’s in town,” he said and her eyes grew wide. “Yeah, surprised right? Maybe I’m just an idiot for not noticing because he’s been here for _two weeks_.”

“Well that’s awkward.”

“I should have noticed to scent on him,” Isaac said.

“He goes to community college and works at a vet clinic, there was no way you were going to notice anyone’s scent on him and come to the conclusion that his dad was back in town,” she said. “You going to order something or just waste my time?”

“I’ll have a milkshake,” he grumbled, taking some cash out of his wallet and putting it down on the counter.

He gave her a look when she didn’t give him any change and she just replied with “it’s my tip.”

“We’re supposed to stop keeping secrets,” he said as he waited.

“You telling me you have no secrets from him?” she asked and he felt that pang of guilt again.

“None that I’m allowed to tell him,” he said.

“What the hell does that even mean?”

“Nothing,” he said. “Screw Scott, and screw Derek.”

She chuckled to herself as she finished up with his milkshake and handed it to him.

“Have we always been this pathetic? Sitting around in a coffee shop complaining about our fucking lives?” he asked.

“To be fair, I’m working,” she said. “And it’s not pathetic. It’s normal, probably the most normal thing we have done since meeting Derek.”

“ _Screw_ Derek,” Isaac said again and Erica laughed.

Rajanish looked over at her and she smiled.

“Sorry, I should probably be focussing right?” she said.

Rajanish smiled.

“Your shift is almost over I guess,” he said. “Hey Isaac.”

Isaac waved and Rajanish’s eyes travelled to Erica once more before going back to the job at hand.

“It’s sweet the way he blushes whenever you’re around.”

“Don’t think I won’t hurt you,” she said. “Go and sit somewhere else, I’ll be done soon.”

He rolled his eyes and went to sit in one of the corner tables while Erica finished up.

“So you guys are pretty good friends then,” Rajanish said. “He seems like he’s always here.”

“Yeah well he’s having boyfriend dramas and apparently I’m the only one he can talk to about them.”

“You must give good advice then,” he said.

“I mostly just tell him to shut up and get over it,” she said and he laughed in his weird nervous way.

“I guess you’ve been through a lot of the same problems before then,” he said and when she cocked an eyebrow at him he turned a shade of scarlet. “No, no, I didn’t mean it like _that_ , I just meant that…”

“Do you want to go out for lunch sometime? Or dinner maybe?” she asked and he seemed to lose the ability to speak for a minute.

“What, really?” he asked and she laughed.

“Yeah, I mean I’d ask if you wanted to get a coffee but that seems kind of pointless don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I mean, sure I’d love to, I mean… yeah,” he finally said. “When?”

“I’ll message you and let you know when I’m free,” she said, taking out her phone and handing it to him to add his number.

She thought she heard Isaac laugh from across the room but she ignored him.

When her shift was over she left, letting Isaac chase after her out the door and up the street.

“So I hear you have a hot date,” he said.

“Shut your mouth,” she said.

“No I’m ahppy for you really,” he said. “Is he really your type though?”

“Like you would know what my ‘type’ is,” she said.

“Well last I checked it was Aiden and that guy… not really a comparison,” he said.

“Raj is sweet and funny and overall he’s a nice guy,” she said, stopping in her tracks and causing Isaac to come almost nose to nose with her. “And you know what the best part is? He’s not a werewolf so he doesn’t come with crazy fucking baggage. Just human baggage.”

“Scott’s problem right now isn’t werewolf baggage and that still sucks,” Isaac said as they started walking again.

“It’s _your_ problem, not Scott’s.”

“Whatever,” he grumbled. “Sometimes I wish we weren’t so stuck in this fucking town.”

Erica thought a moment and then stopped again, letting Isaac take a few steps before he turned around to look at her.

“What?”

“What if we weren’t stuck here?” she said. “Even if it was only for a weekend?”

“What are you saying?” Isaac asked.

“Stiles has a free Derek-funded hotel room, I don’t work the weekends because I still suck,” she said. “Let’s go to Berkeley, reunite the dream team.”

“Dream team?” Isaac said.

“Come on, we’re the best ones and you know it,” she said and he just shook his head with a laugh. “I’m serious, let’s do it.”

“Even if I thought that was a good idea, how would we even get there? You can’t drive and we don’t have a car, or you know, money to blow on that kind of thing.”

She smiled, reaching into her bag and pulling out her wallet.

“ _We_ don’t, but Derek does,” she pulled a credit card out and held it up for him to see.

“Is that―”

“Derek’s? Yeah, I mean he said emergencies only but like you said, _screw_ Derek,” she said. “Are you in?”

He knew that he should say no, he knew that it was a bad idea to run from your problems like they wouldn’t be there when you came back, but in that moment the offer was too tempting to pass up.

“Fuck it,” he said. “I’m in.”

She grinned and took out her phone, dialling Stiles’ number and waiting only briefly for him to pick up.

“You know I’m going to talk your ear off for like an hour now right?” he said without so much as a ‘hello’ to greet her.

“You have plenty of time for that later Stiles,” she said. “Go and check into your fancy hotel, me and Isaac are going to make sure we don’t waste this weekend.”


	10. Chapter Nine: Distance

**_Chapter Nine:_ ** _Distance_

“You know the closer we get the more it feels like a mistake,” Isaac said as he and Erica sat in the back of the Uber on their way to a hotel on the California coast.

They had gone to grab some clothes from Isaac’s place and Erica had taken a few things from her house, though she had said if she forgot anything she would just buy it when she got there.

“You know I’ve never actually been to the coast,” Erica said as she gazed out the window. “I’ve hardly been out of Beacon Hills at all really, and even then it was further inland.”

“Berkeley isn’t quite the coast,” Isaac said and she turned to look at him. “It’s on the bay.”

“It’s as close as I’ve ever been,” she said. “And stop whining, we need to get away for a while.”

Isaac sighed and looked down at his phone. He had left a note on the fridge for Scott to tell him that he had gone with Erica to visit Stiles. He was just waiting for Scott to try calling him to talk about it.

So far he had heard nothing.

“Stop staring at that thing,” Erica said without looking up at him.

“Are we being completely childish for doing this?” he asked.

Erica sighed and turned to him.

“Isaac, you love Scott right?” she said.

“You like asking stupid questions, right?”

“Fine, feel guilty, see if I care.”

“Okay, alright… obviously I love him,” he said. “What is your point?”

“My point is that it doesn’t matter if you love each other because you’re still having problems,” she said. “You love him but that gets in the way of fixing your problems because if I’m right then you’ll both just ignore them as much as you can so you don’t have to ask the tough questions.”

“By that you mean whether we’re any good for each other?” Isaac said.

“Do you think you are?”

“I think we work Erica, that’s not why I’m here,” he said. “This isn’t really about Scott.”

“What’s it about then?” she asked.

“I don’t know, me,” he said with a sigh. “ _Derek_.”

Erica raised an eyebrow at him and he just grunted with a shake of his head.

“Do you really think I meant it like that?” he said, lowering his voice. “I just mean that sometimes I think things would be so much easier if we weren’t… the way we are.”

She sighed and looked down at her hands.

“I know,” she said. “I mean, I’d have nothing, I’d be miserable and alone like I was before but maybe I just want to know what it would be like to not have to worry about all the rest of it.”

“Me too,” he said, knowing that the one thing that was pivotal in shaping the person he had become was the one thing that made him feel trapped. “Do you think it would be less complicated?”

She scoffed, “Obviously. What makes Derek such a big part of this for you? I thought you came along because Scott held onto this big secret or whatever.”

“He isn’t the only one with secrets,” Isaac said. “His just got found out.”

“Can you stop being so cryptic?”

“No,” he said flatly.

“Isaac, seriously you can―”

“I mean it, no,” he said before turning his gaze back to the horizon as it slowly lost sunlight.

She narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a curious look.

“I shouldn’t ask you, should I?” she said quietly.

He sighed, “It wouldn’t matter.”

“I won’t ask then,” she said, a hand gracing his knee as if she knew there was something more going on.

He wished she would figure it out, wished that all the clues he dropped with his words were enough for her to know what he was talking about and that someone could share in the frustration that he felt.

He hated that Derek put him in that position. He knew that Jackson wouldn’t feel the burden crushing him the way it did Isaac.

That’s what he was running from, not just the fact that Scott broke their promise and kept his secret hidden but that he had no leg to stand on in that argument because his secret was just as big and despite wanting to be truthful with him, he was forced into silence.

He didn’t understand why he needed to keep it a secret, why Scott couldn’t know something about himself that would possible affect him greatly. It didn’t matter what Isaac thought, Derek was the alpha and when he put his foot down his word was law.

He’d never known Derek to do it before, at least not often, and that was just as conflicting.

“We’re almost there,” she said. “I’m actually kind of excited.”

“Are you going to be this excited when we get back and Derek takes your head off for overdrawing his credit card?” Isaac asked with a smile.

“He’s got like twelve of them,” she said. “Besides, I feel like if I were Stiles I would be craving some friends right now, plus we can fill him in on the gossip which I _know_ Derek isn’t doing.”

“ _Is there_ any gossip?” Isaac asked. “I mean besides long lost sisters showing up.”

“Probably not, it’s been a boring few months.”

“Can you _not_ say that? You know it’s just asking for trouble,” Isaac groaned.

“Fine, you’re right, trouble is the last thing we should be looking for.”

When they finally made it to the hotel Erica paid the driver the substantial fee with Derek’s credit card and Isaac called Stiles as they made their way into the lobby.

“He’s on his way down,” Isaac said and Erica just grinned.

He could hear her heart pumping and he felt warmth at the thought of her excitement, sometimes he forgot that she had all but given up on ever making it out of Beacon County.

As Stiles stepped out of the lobby he looked over to the main entrance and grinned from ear to ear as he saw the two of them standing there. Erica dropped her bag and ran to him, jumping into his arms and nearly sending them both tumbling into the ground.

“I know it’s only been like a month and a half since I’ve seen you but I missed you!” she said as she squeezed him a little too tight.

She finally let go and looped an arm around his waist as they walked back towards Isaac.

“Did you get taller?” Stiles said and Isaac just grinned, the two of them launching into a hug.

“You must just be getting shorter,” Isaac said.

“It’s seriously so good to see you guys,” Stiles said. “I mean I’m not going to lie, having my boyfriend here to do all the things I was planning would have been, you know―”

“I think you can safely say that you’re going to have to work out a new schedule,” Isaac said. “Because I for one won’t be bathing with you.”

“You see, now you’re just ruining the party,” Stiles said.

“Show us this room, the hotel is _nice_ ,” Erica said. “Derek really goes all out.”

“Not wrong,” Isaac said as he looked around the elaborately decorated lobby.

“For what he lacks in communication skills he makes up for with his expensive taste in hotels,” Stiles said. “Among other things.”

“Let’s just get in the elevator please,” Isaac said.

The room was on one of the floors closest to the top, as soon as they made it through the door Erica was out on the balcony looking over the view of the bay.

“Wow…” she breathed as she took in all the lights and the dull hum of traffic and water and how vastly different it was from home.

“Is this place far from Berkeley?” Isaac asked.

“It’s like a fifteen minute drive from where my dorm is so it’s really not far at all.”

“Can we just extend the booking on this room and stay here for like a year,” Erica said as she walked back inside, flopping down on the soft mattress of one of the double beds.

“I think that _would_ max out Derek’s credit card,” Isaac said.

“What did he say when you told him you were coming?” Stiles asked and Isaac looked over at Erica with his eyebrow raised.

“I should probably text him,” she said, sitting up and taking her phone out of her pocket.

“Of course he doesn’t know,” Stiles said with a shake of his head. “So tell me, why the long trip? I mean is Cora really that bad that you had to come all the way out here? And why didn’t Scott come with you?”

This time it was Erica’s turn to look over at Isaac with an expectant gaze and he just gave her a shove.

“He’s a little preoccupied,” Isaac said. “With, you know, his dad being in town.”

“He’s _still_ hanging around?” Stiles said, immediately shutting up when he saw the look on Isaac’s face.

“You knew?” Isaac asked and Erica slipped out from between them to text Derek from the balcony. “You knew his dad was back? He told you and not _me_?”

“Okay, okay, hold on,” Stiles said with his hands up. “Before you wolf out on me I only knew he was there for a day, Scott told me that his dad showed up and I basically told him to tell him where to shove it and he said it didn’t matter because he would be gone the next day. I swear I didn’t know that the slime ball would be hanging around.”

Isaac sighed because at least that was something more than Scott told him. “Yeah well, he’s still there.”

“Probably best you didn’t stick around then, the guy is an asshole who left his kid and hardly ever made an effort to see him, not to mention he likes to treat my dad like he’s not worth his salt as a cop because he’s just a sheriff in a small town and he’s a big shot FBI Agent.”

“He’s an FBI Agent?” Isaac asked.

“Yeah, and I honestly don’t know why Scott is even bothering with him,” he said. “I mean obviously there’s the whole ‘he’s trying now’ thing but the guy’s a dick so, you know.”

“Yeah but it does explain why he took Derek’s side when Erica and I tried to tell him that trusting her off the bat wasn’t the best plan,” Isaac said.

“Case in point, uncle Scar,” Stiles said.

“Right? Anyway it doesn’t matter now,” Isaac sighed. “I just needed to get away I think.”

Stiles nodded and felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He took it out to see a message from Derek.

**Derek:** _Don’t let them do anything stupid_

Stiles scoffed and showed Isaac the text and he just laughed.

“Wow, nice trust there Derek,” he said.

“Come on, he’s probably actually worried, it just never comes out that way with him,” Stiles said. “How did you get out here anyway it must cost a fortune to take a cab.”

“A generous donation from the bank of Derek,” Erica said as she walked back inside. “Well, I think a better analogy is that we just robbed the bank.”

“What?” Stiles said.

“Erica has one of Derek’s credit cards,” Isaac said and Stiles just looked at them both with wide eyes.

“Well that’s about as risky as robbing a bank,” he said.

“We came to the conclusion of ‘screw Derek’ and we’ll deal with the rest later,” she said. “I mean come on, he didn’t tell you until the next day.”

“Are you trying to get me to join the ‘screw Derek’ movement?” he asked. “And why the hell didn’t one of you tell me?”

“You know Derek, can you imagine if one of us had done it first?” Isaac said.

“Yeah well, good point, anyone for overpriced minibar drinks?” Stiles said.

At that point his phone began to ring and he took a moment to fish it out of his pocket and put it to his ear as he raided the small hotel fridge.

“Hey man, what’s up?” he said.

“You left me a message earlier, something about your boyfriend being an ass-hat?” Kyle said, his smile obviously laden in his words.

“Yeah, don’t know what you guys did last time but you must have scared him right off,” Stiles said jokingly.

“This is the roommate?” Erica said to Isaac who nodded as Stiles tossed a bottle of Vodka towards them. “Give me the phone.”

Stiles tried to bat her away but she manoeuvred him easily and took the phone from his hand.

“Hey, Kyle is it?” she heard him laugh on the other line as Stiles huffed out in annoyance from behind her.

“Speaking, and I’m guessing this is Erica?” he said.

“Correct,” she said. “So from what I’ve heard you’re pretty in the know with campus events or you know, just generally cooler things than Stiles is in the know about.”

“I might be the man to talk to,” he said. “I take it you’re not here on a sightseeing visit?”

“Do you know anything cool happening tonight?” she asked bluntly and he laughed again.

“Not a whole lot, I mean it is a Thursday,” he said. “Unless you want to spend some time at a frat house.”

She made a noise into the phone and Isaac chuckled at the look on her face, remembering the last time they went to a college party and letting the smile fall from his lips.

“Well, I am _not_ sitting around in a hotel room all night for the hell of it,” she said.

“There’s a pretty nice bar just around the corner from campus if you guys want a few drinks, then tomorrow there’s a few things going that I’m sure you’ll like,” Kyle said.

“Sure, why the hell not,” Erica said.

“Awesome, it’s called the Beta Bar, Stiles knows where it is,” he said.

Stiles had to take the phone from Erica because she was laughing harder than Stiles had seen or heard her do in a long time.

“Don’t worry about her she’s losing her mind a little,” he said. “You going to come out too?”

“I’ll come out with you tomorrow night, I’ll get the details on a party they’re setting up out by the Loop and let you know,” he said. “Have fun.”

“I’ll give it my best shot,” Stiles grumbled as he hung up the phone. “Really? You thought Beta Bar was _that_ funny?”

Erica shrugged.

“You just can’t get away from it, wherever you go,” she said.

“We don’t have to go there,” Stiles said.

“Oh shut up and let’s go,” she said.

*

Scott headed home that night feeling deflated, he hadn’t meant for Isaac to find out that way. Part of him didn’t really know why he had hidden his father’s visit from him at all, part of his knew that he did it because he wanted the decisions he made about him to be his own.

He could tell when he opened the door that Isaac wasn’t inside.

The kitchen light was left on and as he went for the fridge to pour himself a glass of juice he saw the note by the handle.

_I won’t be back until Monday, gone to see Stiles with Erica. Don’t want to fight about it, just need some space. I still love you – Isaac_

Scott sighed, he hadn’t really given him much choice or even an option to suggest that he stay so they could have an actual conversation.

He tossed the note aside and shook his head, pulling out his phone to call Derek.

“Scott,” Derek said slowly as he answered.

“Just letting you know in case they haven’t already told you, Isaac and Erica have gone to see Stiles,” he said with a frustrated sigh. “I’m guessing you pissed her off and I _know_ I pissed him off, figured you might want to know.”

“Erica sent me a message a few minutes ago,” he grumbled. “And Stiles doesn’t seem to want to reply to me since I called him earlier.”

“They’re all stubborn I guess,” Scott said.

“That’s what I worry about,” Derek said.

“Yeah well,” Scott said. “Just figured I’d call.”

“I can tell you where they’re staying if that’ll make you feel better,” Derek said.

“No, that’s fine, it’s not like I’ll be going out there or anything,” he said.

“You can join Cora and me for dinner if you like,” he said.

“No, its fine, I kind of feel like being alone anyway,” he said.

“Okay, if you need anything…”

“Thanks Derek.”

Cora looked over at Derek and tilted her head to the side as he put the phone down on the bench.

“You’re a lot different than I thought you’d be,” she said. “Different than I remembered.”

“In what way this time?” he asked.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s just that I never pegged you for the alpha type,” she shrugged and he looked down at his hands. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you’re bad at it.”

“The last two members of my pack in this town just left for the weekend because they’re trying to get away from me,” he said. “You don’t really need to _say_ it.”

“They should blame me for that, it’s just easier to blame you because they actually know you,” she said. “Just kick their asses when they get back.”

“They’re adults, they can do what they want,” Derek said.

“If you’re right then they left to piss you off,” she said. “Mom would have kicked your ass if you did that.”

He smiled over at her. “I’m not their mother.”

“You’re their alpha though,” she said. “I would have been in trouble with my pack if I’d left to piss off my alpha, If I had a disagreement then I either said something or didn’t, you always had a chance to voice your opinions and from what I saw you gave them the chance and they told you how they felt. I didn’t think you were unfair.”

“Your alpha gave you permission to leave then?” he asked and she just gave him a smile.

“Do you think it would have mattered if she didn’t?” she said. “She knew what happened to my family, she knew where my real loyalties were.”

“And I know where they lie for my pack,” he said. “Even if they’re all spread thin across the country for now.”

He headed into the kitchen to look for some menus and Cora watched his every move, pushing a few strands of hair behind her ear.

“You can go to him if you want,” she said. “This guy of yours.”

Derek sighed as his thoughts drifted to Stiles and he just shook his head.

“The others are already there, I know he understands,” he said. “Besides I don’t know if I want to let you out of my sight yet.”

“The blonde one doesn’t seem too happy with the idea of me living here,” she said.

“Erica’s going to have to deal with it,” he said. “But so are you, she practically lives here too. Maybe start by learning her name.”

“I know her name,” she said.

“Then use it,” he said.

“I will,” she said, taking one of the menus to flick through. “So tell me about him, the one you call _Stiles_.”

Derek smiled to himself as he wondered where to start.

*

The Beta Bar turned out to be quite a nice place for them to visit, all of them thankful for fake IDs. Of course it ended up as the three of them spilling as much about their problems as the time would allow.

Isaac had to hold his tongue on some things, physically unable to make himself speak and that in itself was a draining effort.

Eventually they made their way back to the hotel room, Isaac and Stiles sharing a bed while Erica took the other for herself.

It took a while for Stiles to fall asleep. His feelings were so conflicted even after exhausting conversations with Isaac and Erica that felt like they went on for hours.

She was Derek’s sister, it had been eight years. If Stiles’ mother had come back after years of him thinking she was gone he wouldn’t want to leave her side either. On the other hand his thoughts were selfish. Why had he waited to tell him? Why didn’t he bring her along so Stiles could meet her too? When would he deem enough time had passed with Cora to finally come down and see him?

He shook his head to get those thoughts out but they refused to disappear. He hated thinking that way but part of him knew that he was hardly ever selfish and maybe he deserved to demand something every once in a while.

His thoughts travelled to Derek’s other words, the words he always managed to slip into conversation as if he thought it was the concept that Stiles was having trouble grasping.

It would be a lie to say that sex wasn’t on his mind ninety per cent of the time and it would be a lie if he said he had fantasised about being with other people. Thought about it, obviously, but more along the lines of curiosity. As it was he was fascinated by human behaviour and surely couldn’t be the only person to wonder what other people were like in bed.

All of that aside he didn’t want to go to bed with anyone but Derek and he had hoped that somewhere along the line Derek would stop trying to convince him that he was missing something. Truthfully he didn’t feel that way at all until Derek put the thoughts in his head.

He rolled over and came face to face with Isaac, a few curls falling over his eyes as he slept soundly. He felt his fingers twitch as he thought about brushing back his hair and sighed as he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

It felt as though he only lay still for a moment before he got to his feet and walked to the balcony, opening the door to feel the cool breeze that swept in over the bay. He closed his eyes as he rested his arms on the barrier and felt the tiredness weigh heavily on him.

“You always think too much,” Stiles felt a shiver at the sound of the voice from behind him.

He laughed a little to himself, “I’ve really got to start getting more sleep, huh? I’m even _dreaming_ of you coming to visit.”

Dream Derek smiled, reaching out to take Stiles’ hand and he ached at how real the touch felt to him.

“I suppose it would still be weird to get it on when your friends are in the other room even if it is a dream, right?” he said and Derek shook his head.

“Probably,” he said, fingers trailing up Stiles’ arm and pulling him in.

“Do you think I can live for a whole weekend in a dream?”

“I think someone would probably get worried when you just didn’t wake up,” he said and Stiles chuckled.

“You’re probably right,” he said. “Wait you know what, I’m supposed to be pissed at you?”

“What for?”

“You could have told me Cora was back,” he said and Derek’s eyebrow shot up high on his forehead. “I know you _did_ tell me, but you could have done it when it happened.”

“Feeling selfish are we?” he asked and Stiles pulled out of his arms.

“I kind of feel like I shouldn’t be having this argument in a dream, I might convince myself that it’s already resolved,” he said with a sigh and Derek was quick to pin him up against the wall.

His lips pressed down into Stiles’ and his body melted against him. Stiles let himself close his eyes and savour the taste of him, his hands rising to cup Derek’s cheeks.

He might have been angry with him, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t enjoy him for a moment.

As Derek pulled back Stiles sighed deeply with the frustration of his lost touch. He opened his eyes and yelped as he saw Isaac staring down at him.

“Jesus― what the hell?” Stiles said as he backed further into the wall.

“Maybe you should just go back to bed,” he said.

“My dreams get weirder and weirder, I swear,” he said. “Wait, can you be aware that you’re dreaming when you’re _actually_ dreaming?”

“It’s not just your dreams that get weirder.”

Stiles rubbed his eyes as he made his way back to the bed and lay down, staring up at the ceiling before finally everything went dark again.

*

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Derek said as Cora stood in front of him with her arms folded.

“I want to do it,” she said. “I’m not a child any more Derek, and I’ve had plenty of time to dwell on thoughts of what it might look like.”

Derek sighed and turned away.

Their old home was haunting enough before it had been set alight again in the year that passed. His mind flashed with the images he remembered of being trapped inside and the sound of Stiles screaming for him as he managed to get him out.

The memory made him sick to his stomach.

“If you don’t want to come with me I’ll go alone,” she said.

“You know I wouldn’t make you go alone,” he said.

“Then let’s do it,” she said.

It wasn’t like he could have stopped her if he’d wanted to, he just wanted her to think about it before she dived in and did it. Though he knew she was right, she’d had enough time to think about it.

He could hear her heart pounding as they drove out there even if she refused to admit that she was anxious to see the place. They parked a little way out and walked the rest of the distance, her heartbeat only getting faster the nearer they became.

She slowed as they came within view of the old house.

Derek felt his own chest seize, he hadn’t seen it since he had been trapped inside and that fire had certainly done more damage than he had remembered.

More of the roof had caved in, the scorch marks on the outside were darker, and it looked as though it would fall to the ground with the slightest touch.

He looked over at Cora who just stared stoically at the ruins before her feet were crunching on the leaves as she headed to what used to be the front porch.

“Cora…” Derek said but she didn’t stop.

She took slow steps up what remained of the steps and passed through the hole in the wall and climbed over the debris that blocked her way.

“I suppose this used to be the door,” she said.

“A few things happened here in the last year,” he said. “It’s in worse shape than it used to be.”

“You know this used to be my favourite place,” she said. “My friends used to tell me that it was weird how much I like it at home but… I thought they were weird for wanting to get away.”

She turned back to give Derek a smile as he stood outside.

“Are you coming in?” she asked.

Part of him wanted to but he couldn’t bring himself to take the few steps forward.

“No,” he said. “I’ll be right here.”

She gave him a silent nod as she walked further inside and Derek tried to ignore the pain growing in his chest as she disappeared from sight.

*

Jackson woke up for the first time in months in his own bed, the quiet of the house unnatural after so much time spent in the bustling countries abroad.

It was past midday, his body still getting used to the time difference and getting over the jetlag.

His parents were out at work and he was about as alone as he had been in months. He thought he had been waiting for it, to finally get some time to himself after so long of having constant company but as it turned out it just felt strange.

Once he had filled himself with a meal he took out his phone and dialled Isaac’s number, maybe he could get himself caught up on the way of things in Beacon Hills.

He wouldn’t mention that he was almost hoping for some drama.

Isaac fished his phone out of his pocket as he finished scoffing down the last of his room service pasta.

“If it’s Scott again just don’t answer it,” Erica said as she lounged on the carpeted floor.

“It’s actually Jackson,” he said. “So you didn’t get permanently lost in Europe.”

“As tempting a feat as that is, no, I found my way back to the states,” he said. “I thought it was about time to touch bases. Go on, hit me with it, what’s new?”

“You really don’t know what you’re asking for,” Isaac chuckled.

“You don’t scare me Lahey,” Jackson said dryly.

“You don’t scare me either _Whittemore_ ,” he said, getting up and walking towards the balcony. “Hope you weren’t counting on catching up for coffee this afternoon.”

“You’re such a dick,” Jackson said.

Erica scoffed as Isaac slipped from sight.

“All that time in Europe _still_ couldn’t sweeten him up,” she said.

“It’s Jackson, did you expect any different?”

“I guess not,” she shrugged. “Your friend texted you the details yet?”

“No, he’s good for it though,” Stiles said.

“Oh is he?”

“Don’t act like I’m saying things I’m not, he’s a good friend,” Stiles said. “Best one I’ve made since I got here.”

“Yeah well, you’ve got someone, that’s good,” she said.

“So have you got anything to say about this guy you work with or are you just keeping it a total secret?” he asked and she cracked a smile, shaking her head at him.

“What do you want me to say? I got his number and asked him out to dinner… or whatever,” she said. “It’s not a thing.”

“You don’t exactly _do_ dinner,” he said and she kicked him hard in the leg. “ _Ow_! I wasn’t saying there is anything wrong with… not doing dinner, I wasn’t just saying that you, well, _don’t_.”

“Well maybe I felt like it,” she said. “He’s a nice guy, I don’t know many of them do I?”

“Well obviously there’s me,” Stiles said.

“You’re not nice, none of you are,” she scoffed.

“I was going to say that we’re nice to you but that would be a total lie, huh?” he said.

“You’re nicer than the rest of them, so maybe not a _total_ lie,” she smiled.

When Isaac came back in he collapsed back on the bed and Erica just raised her eyebrows at him. He brushed her off, telling her that Jackson was fine and trying not to act disappointed that there was no one but Derek back home for him to hang out with.

Stiles and Erica went out to buy something for Erica to wear, he almost felt guilty that she was using Derek’s credit card but somehow it didn’t feel as bad as it should have.

Kyle texted him the details for the night and told Stiles he would come and pick the three of them up, much to Stiles’ pleasure.

“At least I don’t have to worry about losing the jeep down at the Loop because I’ve been drinking too much to drive,” he said. “You know someone went to get there car one morning after a big party and they found it in the middle of the quad? It took them four hours to figure out how to get it out of there.”

“Yeah well at least you can get to the point where you have to abandon your car,” Isaac grumbled and Erica just looked over at him from where she was brushing her hair in the mirror.

“’My life is so awful, being a werewolf sucks’, come on Isaac, you’ve got a few things going for you at least,” Stiles said and Isaac chuckled.

“Thanks Stiles that makes me feel loads better,” he said.

Stiles’ phone rang and he checked the caller I.D.

“It’s Kyle,” he said. “He said he’d call when he was in the lobby so I’ll be back in five.”

As he left the room he answered the phone and shut the door behind him, leaving Erica and Isaac alone.

“You not even going to put any effort into your appearance?” she asked as she walked in to stand over him.

“It doesn’t take a whole lot of work to make this look good so I’ll probably be fine,” he said. “By all means though, take your time in there.”

She sat down on the bed beside him and twisted the mascara in her hands. Isaac propped himself up and looked at her with a tilt of his head.

“You okay?” he asked. “You’d usually have some kind of derisive comeback for that.”

“You ever miss it?” he asked without looking up.

“What do you mean ’it’?” he asked.

“How it felt to be human?” she said.

He sat up properly, scooting over to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Why do you ask? My comment before?” he asked.

“Just answer the question,” she said.

He sighed, “I guess I do, I mean I don’t even know if I _remember_ what it felt like anymore. I guess sometimes I wish I could feel it again, just so I’d know if I made the right decision you know?”

She nodded, turning over the tube in her hand again.

“What if you could feel it?” she asked. “Even just for a little while?”

“Erica…”

“Don’t freak out on me,” she said, looking up at him a moment before getting up and going over to her bag.

“What did you do?” he asked.

“ _Nothing_ ,” she hissed. “… Yet.”

She turned around with a small jewellery box in her hand and came back to sit by his side. As she opened it he saw two small orange pills and he just stared up at her.

“What the hell is that?” he asked.

“I heard about this guy,” she started. “Who could help people in our… _situation_ , to feel human again. It only lasts about twenty-four hours, but it dials back some of the things that make us what we are. I mean not completely but it’s as close as you can get.”

“Where the hell did you hear about that? Why would you―” he cut himself off and huffed out a little. “Aiden, it was him, wasn’t it?”

“He’s tried it before, he wanted to know what it was like because he’s never been human,” she said. “I mean, granted, he hated it, but it worked. His hearing dulled, his sight, he could get drunk without having to drink pure fucking methanol… we could feel normal again Isaac.”

He opened his mouth to tell her it was a stupid idea, that it was just as bad a decision to take these pills as it would be to take any others, but he knew that despite all of those thoughts being true, he wanted to do it.

“Twenty-four hours?” he asked and she nodded.

“Aiden was back to normal in about eighteen,” she said.

“What if something happens?” he said. “What if tonight is the one night we’re going to need to be werewolves and we just gave that up to go to a party?”

She rolled her eyes.

“Bad shit happens to humans all the time, let some other werewolf deal with the weight of the world for one night,” she said.

She took one of the pills and held it out for him. He let her drop it into his palm and she tipped hers into her own before throwing it back and swallowing it down.

“No turning back now,” she said.

Isaac looked down at it for a minute, she was right, it was just one night.

“What the hell,” he said, passing it through his lips and feeling it travel down his throat. “No going back.”


	11. Chapter Ten: Feeling Human

**_Chapter Ten:_ ** _Feeling Human_

“You’ll like them, I swear,” Stiles said as he and Kyle made their way up to the room in the elevator. “I mean don’t listen to anything they say about me because it’s almost definitely going to be lies but you’ll like them.”

Kyle grinned and shook his head a little.

“So is everything okay? I mean, Derek doesn’t show up but two of your friends do?” he asked. “You sure you’re alright?”

“It’s cute how much you worry,” Stiles grinned.

“Oh I’m not worried, I just don’t want to have to be sitting with you all night if you’re going to have a breakdown,” he said.

“I’m fine Kyle,” he said.

“You and Derek didn’t break up or anything did you?”

“No, there was no break up, you’re just going to have to stay disappointed in that regard,” he said and Kyle laughed.

“I’m heartbroken, truly,” he said.

“Shut up,” Stiles said as they walked down the hall and into the room.

Erica was sitting on the bed while Isaac paced back and forth by the window and Stiles raised an eyebrow as they both looked up at him.

“Did I just walk in on something weird?” he asked.

“No,” they said together.

“Okay then… this is Kyle, be nice and stop acting like that,” he said.

“We’re not acting like anything Stiles,” Erica said with a roll of her eyes. “It’s good to finally meet you, face to the name and all.”

“You too,” Kyle said. “I brought some stuff to drink if you guys want to get into it early?”

Isaac looked nervously over at Erica who shot him a subtle look.

“The best suggestion I’ve heard all day,” she said.

*

Cora had been quiet since they had returned from the old Hale house, not that Derek had seen her be overly chatty since she came back into his life but that evening the silence was more than noticeable.

He wanted to ask if she was okay, if it had been too much, but somehow he knew the answer and it felt like a question he didn’t need to raise.

She had gone up to the extra room when they had got back, he hadn’t heard from her in a few hours before she came back downstairs. She grabbed a glass of water and he watched as she came into the living area to sit opposite him on the armchair.

He closed his book and eyed her thoughtfully but she just stared off at the far wall.

“It was different than I thought it would be,” she said. “I mean not that I had any real expectations but somehow it was different.”

“You’d thought about coming back?” he asked.

“For a long time,” she nodded. “Just for closure or, to prove that it really happened or to just ruin all my memories like I thought it might.”

“Ruin them?”

“Yeah, like they say if the last memory you have of someone is a really bad one it can taint the rest of them,” she said. “I thought maybe if I had a bad memory of that place the rest of them wouldn’t seem so great and it wouldn’t hurt as much. Turns out that’s just not true.”

“I know,” he said.

They shared a moment in silence before she stood up with a sigh.

“Well, I’m done with that line of discussion,” she said. “I’m going for a run so I’ll see you in a bit.”

He just nodded as she headed out and he felt that strange pang in his stomach to see her go but he knew she would have to be by herself sometimes.

It wasn’t long until he heard someone else arriving and there was a knock on the door, he recognised the heavy feet that preceded it.

“Come in,” he said, snapping the book shut as Jackson walked in. “You’re back.”

“Well that’s pretty clear,” he said with his trademark smirk. “I heard I’m not the only one?”

Derek stood up and dropped the book on the table as he walked past Jackson and to the kitchen.

“Which one?” he asked.

“Isaac,” he said. “Figured I’d call him first because the jetlag isn’t settled enough for me to deal with Erica and there was no way I was calling McCall. Turns out they’re not even here.”

“No, and I’m sure you’ve guessed why,” Derek said.

“Didn’t have to, Isaac laid it out pretty clearly,” he said, walking over to lean on the bench.

“So what are your thoughts then?” Derek asked, grabbing two glasses from the cabinet.

Jackson scoffed, “That the two of them are idiots?”

Derek didn’t say anything, he just reached into the back of the cabinet to pull out a bottle of scotch and poured two generous serves. As he handed one to Jackson he watched as he put it to his lips and downed in one long mouthful.

“You being of that opinion doesn’t have anything to do with me having this, does it?” Derek said with an amused look on his face.

Jackson shook his head and held out the glass again.

“Not at all but I got more if you want to keep pouring,” he said.

Derek chuckled lightly and poured him another glass.

He took it a little slower this time.

“So uh… where is the offending article?” he said with a grin.

“First off, you call her that again and I stop pouring,” Jackson shrugged with a nod and took another sip. “Second, _Cora_ is out running.”

“ _Cora_ ,” he repeated.

“Don’t even think about it,” Derek said as he downed his own glass.

“I wasn’t,” Jackson said.

“Okay, so you want to tell me why you’re here then?” he asked.

“To see what all the fuss was about,” he said. “And the booze. Do you have any idea how much a rave _sucks_ when everyone else is drunk or high and you can’t even get a buzz?”

“Would you believe me if I said I did?” he said.

“Then you got to give me your contacts man,” he said.

“Not going to happen.”

“Whatever happened to pack loyalty, huh?” Jackson said.

“Trust me when I tell you that I’m doing you a favour in being the middle man. You don’t have nearly as much control as you’d like to think,” he said. “And when I say ‘trust me’, I mean don’t ask.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said.

Derek poured him another glass and let him complain about his trip, because that seemed to be the only thing that Jackson was capable of. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe him when he said he was there to suss everything out, but he thought it might have something to do with his inability to spend any amount of time by himself.

They were opposites in that way. Derek preferred to be alone in his own company whereas Jackson couldn’t bear the thought.

It wasn’t too much longer before the door was opening again and Cora came through, cheeks slightly pink and sweat on her brow.

She looked over at Jackson, giving him a once over and then raising her eyes at Derek.

“Another one?” she said.

“This is Jackson, he’s back from―”

“The rich kid who went to Europe?” she said.

“You know I find it sweet that you talk about me,” Jackson smirked and Derek huffed out a loud sigh.

“Just to be fair,” he said. “I never called you rich.”

Jackson snorted. “Well, I am.”

This time it was Derek’s turn to smirk.

“It’s sweet that you think so,” he said.

Jackson gave him a confused look and Derek seemed quite pleased with himself as Cora walked over to extend her hand.

“Well, rich kid, I’m Cora,” she said.

“I tend to go by Jackson, but if there was ever a nickname I could get on board with it’d probably be that one,” he said.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Derek said as he opened the fridge to toss Cora a bottle of water.

“Well, nice meeting you I guess,” she said as she headed up the stairs.

“If you’ve got any comments, get them out of the way now,” Derek said.

“She seems like your sister,” he said.

“Is that it?”

Jackson shrugged. “You got anything to eat?”

Derek just raised his eyebrows at him before opening up the fridge so he could help himself, just like he never left.

*

“This was a bad idea,” Isaac hissed to Erica as they walked about ten steps behind Stiles and Kyle. “Why the hell did I let you talk me into this?”

“ _Hey_ ,” Erica hissed back. “It wasn’t that hard to talk you into it, and stop worrying. Everything is fine, can you even feel anything?”

“No,” he said. “God I hate you.”

She chuckled to herself and he gave her an incredulous look.

“What is _so_ funny right now?”

“I was just thinking,” she said. “I was going to say you could just put your fingers in your throat and bring that shit back up but I highly doubt you have a gag reflex.”

He narrowed his eyes at her as they walked and she just laughed.

“Whoa,” she said after a moment and stopped in her tracks.

“What? What is it?” he said quickly.

“ _Whoa_ ,” she said again.

“Erica _what_?” he said.

She put her hands to her ears and blinked a few times and Isaac thought that his heart might give out as he watched her.

“It’s like, it’s like everything’s gone fuzzy,” she said. “I mean I can hear you but everything else is fuzzy. I can’t even hear Stiles going on about his stupid finals anymore. _Whoa_.”

“Shit, it’s working?” he said.

“Would you shut up?” she said. “I think the shots from the hotel are hitting me too.”

“Well that’s just―” Isaac started before the warm feeling started to spread in his stomach. “Oh god…”

He had to blink a few times to readjust his vision as everything around him lost its sharp edge, somehow even Erica seemed to blur. Everything sounded muffled, the music covered up the ambient sounds and Stiles’ voice faded into the sea of others that surrounded them.

Then he felt the warmth in his belly spreading to his extremities and the buzz began to hit.

“You feel it too?” Erica asked.

“You sound… this is…” he began.

“What the hell are you guys doing back there?” Stiles called as he and Kyle turned to look at them.

“Nothing,” they said at the same time and Stiles gave them another suspicious look.

“Can you two stop doing that?” he said. “Seriously, something’s up, I can tell.”

Erica looked up at Isaac as if she was waiting for him to crack and spill everything out right there, but instead he just grinned and tapped her on the shoulder as they jogged to catch up.

“I think we should all just shut up and get going,” he said. “Because it sounds like we’re missing the party.”

*

Scott hated the feeling of being alone in their house.

Knowing that Isaac left because he lied and that things were as tense as ever between them made his stomach turn.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t had any contact, they’d been texting on and off without much resolve. All Scott really knew was that they were going to a party, and that he and Erica would be back the following day.

Sometimes he thought that it had been easier when he was with Allison. Their problems had revolved around one of them being a werewolf and the other a descendant of a long line of werewolf hunters, somehow his problems with Isaac seemed so much deeper than that.

They were actual problems, especially now that they weren’t kids anymore. They were supposed to be growing up and maturing and acting less like teenagers. It didn’t feel like that was happening at all.

He sunk down on the couch and took out his phone to text Isaac, even though he knew he probably wouldn’t hear back.

**_Scott:_ ** _I don’t want us to fight like this anymore, I miss you, and I love you. See you when you get back xo_

He shoved the phone back in his pocket and flicked on the TV set. It all seemed too hard sometimes.

Isaac took his phone out of his pocket, even the feel of the denim on his fingers felt different now. His eyes took a moment to adjust as he looked down at the screen.

“What’s wrong?” Stiles said as they both bobbed and swayed to the music.

The crowd had filled out a lot more down at the Loop. Someone had set up a DJ Booth and brought kegs and drink stations – it was like all college kids were good at was setting up impromptu parties under the stars.

“Nothing!” Isaac called back over the music, “Just a message from Scott!”

He leant in a little closer than he meant to, his balance not quite what it usually was and his body starting to feel the effects of the liquor.

“I thought we were making this a ‘boyfriend free zone’!” Stiles called back, sweat just starting to shine on his brow.

Isaac laughed and held out his phone, “maybe you should take away the temptation then.”

Stiles put his hands up and danced back a step.

“What are you kidding? I’ll be worse with that thing than you,” he said. “Just put it back in your pocket and _dance_.”

Isaac grinned and did exactly that.

He could feel the bass pulsing through him and closed his eyes as he let it all sink in. He felt Erica’s hands on his waist as she slipped in behind him and when he opened his eyes Kyle had slung an arm over Stiles’ shoulders and Erica was leaning into his side.

He hadn’t been drunk like this in a long time, somehow even Derek’s liquor didn’t compare to the feeling. It was like it all went into slow motion and the music was in place of his heartbeat, warm and evocative and it made him feel alive.

He didn’t have to choose what to focus on, there was no choice, it was just everything that was in the foreground and for once he didn’t want to feel the control over the situation that he usually did, he just wanted to be there.

He wrapped an arm around Erica’s waist and lifted her up to spin her around. It wasn’t as easy as he remembered and Kyle caught him as he stumbled to the side.

Erica squealed with delight and latched on to Stiles as the two of them started to dance, her hands on his shoulders as she grinned up at him.

Kyle grabbed two shots from someone passing them around and handed one to Isaac. The two of them tapped the plastic cups together and downed the shot in one.

It might have been tequila but it could have been something else, Isaac couldn’t quite tell and that was the best part.

He reached out and put a hand on Kyle’s shoulder, pulling him in and grinning as the beat moved them and the lights around them flashed.

Erica could feel it too, the freedom of not thinking, of losing focus and control for the first time since she could remember. It felt more like a high than anything she’d felt before and it made it that much easier for them both to let everything go.

*

“So, I really don’t know what’s gotten into you,” Danny said as he blinked a few times in the early morning sunlight. “In all the years I have known you, you have never been a morning person.”

“Oh shut up and start running,” Jackson said as they started off on the path leading away from Danny’s place.

“And you’re lucky I know that your ‘shut up’ actually means ‘thank you’,” he said as he took a few longer steps to catch him. “Not that I know why you asked _me_ anyway, you’ll be able to run miles on me.”

“Don’t make me regret it,” Jackson said.

“See I have this theory that it has something to do with your whole inability to be alone thing,” Danny said and even he heard Jackson growl. “But because we don’t talk about that I’m just going to pretend it’s because you miss my company.”

“Now you’re really dreaming,” Jackson said.

Danny grinned to himself but didn’t say anything further, he just kept up the pace with Jackson as best he could and they ran in silence.

It wasn’t too long before they made it to the main street, and Jackson complained about Danny being slow so they stopped at one of the cafés for a coffee.

“I don’t want to be _that_ guy and say ‘I told you so’ but I definitely did,” Danny said as they sat in one of the back booths. “Why didn’t you just as Scott to go with you instead? The two of you might actually match each other for pace.”

“I’m not going to go running with _McCall_ ,” he said.

“Why would you go running with me? We just spent months in each other’s company and it’s only been a couple of days since we got back.”

Jackson sighed and took a sip of his coffee.

“You can always just give me your phone so you’re not tempted to call her,” Danny said.

“It’s not that,” he said. “I don’t know what it is, it’s all just different now.”

“Do you think it’ll go back to the way it was in a few weeks when some of the others are back?” he asked. “I mean Stiles and Lydia will be done with finals in a couple of weeks so they’ll probably be back. That’s what you’re talking about right? Your werewolf pack dynamics?”

“I don’t know,” he said genuinely.

He couldn’t quite figure out what was making him feel the way he was. He was missing something or maybe it was just the change sitting strangely with him. Whatever it was he was struggling to understand it and it made him all the more frustrated.

Maybe it was the way everyone felt when they left high school, like there were too many directions to go and none of them look like the right path.

There was always so much pressure to choose the right one because you only get one life, somehow that pressure made it that much harder to make up your mind.

“Look while we’re here,” Danny said slowly and Jackson looked up from the cup in his hands. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What about?” Jackson shrugged and Danny just looked up at him thoughtfully.

“Greece,” he said.

Jackson shrugged again, “What about Greece?”

Danny just looked at him a moment before breaking eye contact and shaking his head.

“Yeah, you know what it’s alright we can talk about it later, you seem pretty… I don’t know, moody.”

Jackson sighed.

“Sorry,” he grumbled.

“Everyone has those days man,” Danny said.

Jackson just hoped that his would come to an end soon.

*

Isaac woke up in the hotel bed the next morning and felt his head throbbing and a queasiness in his gut that really wasn’t sitting well.

He managed to sit up, squinting at the shard of light coming through the curtain and looked down at Stiles sleeping beside him, mouth hanging open as he snored lightly. Erica’s bed was empty though it definitely looked like she’d slept in it.

He put his hands to his head and grunted loudly as the sharp pain came through behind his eyes. As he stood up he wobbled on his feet and took slow shuffling steps to the bathroom.

As he opened the door he saw Erica sitting on the floor and leaning up against the wall by the toilet and she gave him a weak smile as he walked in.

“I don’t think I completely thought this through,” she said as she pushed her hair back and sighed.

“Do you want some water?” Isaac asked, his voice catching in his throat.

She held up one of the hotel glasses and then put it back on the floor by her side.

“I’m good but you need to get one, you look like shit,” she said.

“I guarantee I feel worse.”

“Not possible.”

He managed a feeble laugh as he grabbed the other glass off the sink and filled it, sliding himself slowly down the wall opposite her and grunting as he hit the floor.

“It’s official,” she said. “Being human sucks.”

“Come on, everything was great up until this part,” he said. “It actually felt pretty good not to think about everything I could hear and smell, and see. It kind of felt like a night off.”

“Yeah well, I didn’t like it,” she said as she looked down at her hands.

“Did something happen?” he asked.

She shrugged, looking up at him as she rested her head back against the tiled wall.

“Yes and no,” she said. “I uh, I had a bit of a moment, like, I felt a flutter.”

“A what?” he asked.

She closed her eyes and shook her head.

“It’s what I used to call it when I could feel a seizure coming,” she said and Isaac’s eyes grew wide. “It’s like a, uh, like my whole body starts to vibrate and then you know, seize. Like all over rapid movement and then uneven unsteady convulsions.”

“Shit, are you okay?” Isaac said.

“It didn’t happen,” she said. “I’m not stupid, I asked the guy before I bought the damn pills if it would bring my seizures back and he said it doesn’t really affect the healing thing. That’s the reason it only lasts twenty-four hours on average. Metabolism is going so fast it burns through the drug and you still heal at a faster rate.”

“He told you that? How could they even know that for sure?” he said.

“He said they tested it,” she said and Isaac raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I didn’t really want to ask too many questions after that.”

“But he was wrong,” he said.

“He wasn’t,” she said. “Like I told you, I had a flutter but it never turned into a seizure, a panic attack, sure, but not a seizure. Kyle like took me aside and calmed me down, I had to get him to promise he wouldn’t tell Stiles because he would know something weird was up.”

Isaac nodded taking a long sip from his glass.

“My curiosity is completely satisfied, I made a good choice letting Derek turn me,” she said. “I guess I didn’t really think so until last night because I’d forgotten that feeling, that fear of having something take control of me and being completely helpless against it. I don’t want to feel human anymore, I like being in control.”

Isaac tapped her foot with his own and she gave him a smile.

“And you? What conclusion did you come to?” she asked with a sigh.

“It was… definitely different than I remembered,” he said.

She nodded before her face went pale and she was leaning over the toilet bowl and the contents of her stomach were splashing into the bowl.

“Oh god,” she groaned. “How many more hours until I’m back to being myself?”

“I don’t know but you’re going to have to make room over there,” Isaac said as he put the back of his hand to his mouth.

“No, there is a perfectly good sink right there this is mine,” she said and he just tilted his head back and tried to think of anything other than the sick feeling climbing up his throat at that moment.

*

Cora walked out of her makeshift room slowly, her feet treading so lightly on the floor they hardly made a sound.

The loft wasn’t too much different from her last place of residence, it was quite cold with little in the way of evidence that someone had made it into a home. Her room smelled of a number of different people, some she had now met and others still strangers.

It would take a while before she felt truly comfortable, if she ever did.

She walked to the room across the small hallway and slowly pried the doorhandle open before taking a step inside.

The bed looked as though a meagre attempt had been made to reset the sheets, the pillows still had shape to them as if they had only the night before been slept in. She walked slowly around it and looked around the rest of the room.

There was a chest of drawers with a mirror above them, a few pictures tacked to it and a fair amount of make-up and odd bits and pieces. She walked over to the open closet, a leather jacket was hanging up on the inside of the door and there were quite a few things hanging up inside.

When she heard Derek’s footsteps in the hall she knew she wasn’t going to be able to get out without his notice.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his arms folded over his chest as he leant against the door.

“What?” she said and he just raised an eyebrow. “I’m just trying to get a feel for these people, I feel like they have an advantage over me.”

“How’s that?” he asked.

“Well I’m sure they know more about me than I know about them,” she said and Derek just smiled.

“Stiles maybe,” he said. “Erica, not so much. And I don’t think she’d be happy to know you’ve been going through her things.”

“I haven’t gone through anything,” she said. “I was just… looking. Trying to get an idea about her seeing as she’s living here. If you have addresses for the others I could do the sane for them.”

“You know I’m not sure if you’re joking or not,” he said and she gave him a small smile.

“Okay, respect personal boundaries, won’t happen again,” she said, walking towards him and squeezing past him out the door.

“You could try talking to them, if you wanted to find out more about them,” he said.

“I think you can appreciate why I came in here, to avoid that avenue entirely,” she said. “I don’t like feeling like an outsider, and right now you and I both know that’s exactly what I am.”

“You can’t expect them to be anything less than cautious, I don’t,” he said. “I expect them to make an effort, but at least I can understand their concerns.”

“Speaking of, when will I get to be reunited with Uncle Peter?” she asked and Derek just scoffed.

“Ideally not for a while,” he said, shutting Erica’s door behind them as they headed out.

“Still don’t know where he is?” she asked.

“I’m working on it.”

*

Stiles slept for a lot longer than he intended, his body feeling a little worse for wear.

He groaned as he sat himself up and ran a hand through his hair. He seemed to be alone in the room.

“Erica?” he called hoarsely. “Isaac?”

He rubbed his eyes and grumbled to himself, muttering something along the lines of ‘never drinking again’.

He grabbed his phone from the bedside table to see a few messages so he opened them up to read through.

**_Erica:_ ** _Gone to get some coffee, text when you’re awake and we’ll let you know where we end up x_

**_Derek:_ ** _Hope your weekend has been okay, I miss you_

**_Erica:_ ** _We might be a little lost, call me?_

**_Scott:_ ** _Was I totally out of line? Has he said anything about me? Sorry, I just don’t know what to do here. Call me later_

**_Erica:_ ** _Never mind we found a Starbucks, I think it’s right around the corner from the hotel_

He shook his head at the lot of them and tossed the phone to the bed beside him before getting up for a glass of water.

He felt like it was a blessing that he slept so late, he might not have felt as good had he not. He managed to dress himself and pull on his shoes before making his way to the Starbucks a short walk from the hotel. Erica and Isaac were sat on a couple of couches around the side.

“Did you guys have to pick the _loudest_ place on Earth to come and get coffee?” he groaned as he sunk into the empty space beside Erica.

“Get yourself a coffee and stop whining,” Erica said as she lounged back. “You’ll survive.”

“What do you want? It’s on me,” Isaac said, getting up and out of the couch as Stiles told him his order.

“And get some muffins or something, I’m starving,” he called out to him. “Why do the two of you look so grumpy?”

“I don’t know Stiles, why are _you_ grumpy?” Erica said.

“Because I drank too much last night and I have finals coming up after next week?” he said.

“Well maybe we’re just remembering that we have to go back and actually face our problems this afternoon,” she said. “How the hell do you face Derek after you’ve done something you shouldn’t have?”

“I don’t think he had a problem with you coming down here,” Stiles said.

“The credit card thing,” she said.

“Oh, yeah right, that,” he said. “I’ll text him, tell him it was my idea.”

“What? That’s idiotic,” she said. “Better me than you.”

“Not really, I’ll just tell him I was upset that he wasn’t coming and the only way I knew to get you here was to use it and that you were frustrated and listened to my stupid idea,” he said. “Besides that’s just what we do, I do something stupid and he forgives me, he does something without considering my feelings and I forgive him. We’ll be even.”

“Thanks,” she said as she leaned over to rest her head on his arm.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. “Both of you seem… I don’t know, like something is going on that I don’t see.”

“We’re fine Stiles, just… wolf stuff I guess,” she said and she felt him sigh.

“Yeah, okay, don’t ask,” he said quietly. “I get it.”

Isaac came back to the table with a take-away coffee cup and put it down roughly on the table.

He sat back down and pulled his legs up onto the couch, sighing loudly and closing his eyes.

Stiles’ brow furrowed a little as he tried to figure out what he was missing.

“You forgot the muffins douchebag,” Erica said without so much as looking over at him.

Isaac turned his head slowly to give her a filthy look as he stood up and stalked back over to the counter.

“You didn’t need to make him do that,” Stiles said.

“I didn’t, he just assumed I meant ‘get up and buy some’,” she said.

“I had a weird dream the other night,” Stiles said as he looked out over at Isaac. “Derek was here and we were kissing, and then I opened my eyes and it was actually Isaac.”

Erica shrugged. “I’ve had that dream before.”

“It just felt so real,” he said.

“Sometimes they do, that’s what makes dreams scary sometimes,” she said. “When they seem real, makes you wonder what you really want.”

“And just what are you trying to say?” Stiles said, looking over at her with an eyebrow raised.

She rolled her eyes at him.

“Relax, I’m not trying to say anything about you or your dream in particular,” she said. “Just that dreams make you confused when there’s no need to be. Just because you dream it doesn’t mean it’s anything real. I once had a dream that I had a month to get married or the world was going to end and I kept seeing some guy from my math class thrown into the mix, I didn’t even like him but when I woke up I started thinking that maybe I did. Then about three days later he called me something that I’m _not_ going to repeat and that was the end of that.”

“That’s…” Stiles started, not really knowing what else to say about it.

“That’s what you get when you watch the second Princess Diaries movie before you go to bed,” she said. “That’s what that is.”

Stiles just laughed at her and she smiled as Isaac trudged back and sunk into the couch again.

“She’s bringing them over,” he grumbled.

“Okay, how about we all just drink our coffee without the attitude?” Stiles said.

“Agreed,” Erica and Isaac said together.

*

They took the rest of the morning slowly, Erica and Isaac packing their bags and Stiles deciding to check out early from the hotel because the last thing he felt like doing was spending a night alone in an empty room.

By midday Isaac’s hangover was gone and his hearing was starting to get sharper. The adjustment felt strange but he hoped it would start to feel normal by the time they made it back to Beacon Hills. Erica didn’t start to get her senses back until a few hours later.

They waited outside the hotel as they called an Uber to pick them up, they were already waist deep in Derek’s credit card bill, what was a few more dollars to add to it?

“You’ll be back soon right?” Erica asked as she hugged Stiles goodbye.

“I have finals in a week so it’s less than a month until the break,” he said. “Trust me, I’ll be back the minute I walk out of my last exam.”

“You better be,” she said.

“Can you just… _try_ and make an effort with Cora?” he said. “Derek wouldn’t have postponed his visit if it wasn’t important. Maybe just don’t be so mouthy to her?”

She sighed and leant up to kiss him on the cheek.

“I’ll play nice,” she said. “Not going to trust her though.”

“Didn’t think you would,” he said as he looked up at Isaac and the two exchanged a smile. “You should probably play nice too.”

“Yeah, yeah, she’s his sister and all the rest of it,” he said.

“I meant with Scott, but Cora too,” he said and Isaac sighed, giving him one more nod before getting into the car.

As he watched them drive away the positive buzz that he’d been feeling began to dull and he made his way to the jeep so he could drive back to campus. He had a crazy amount of studying to in the lead up to his exams.

*

It was starting to get dark by the time Isaac made it back to his front door.

He stood there for a moment just looking up at it as though it would swallow him whole if he took another step toward it. He didn’t know if he was ready for an argument.

He knew Scott was waiting for him, he could hear him just inside and surely he knew that he was standing outside by now.

He sighed loudly before finally walking up to the door and heading in.

As he turned the corner into the kitchen he came face to face with Scott leaning up against the kitchen bench.

“Hey,” he said softly.

“Hey,” Isaac said back, dropping his backpack by the wall.

“How was Berkeley?” he asked.

“Scott―”

“I’m sorry, okay?” he said without letting him say anything first. “I should have told you, I don’t even know why I didn’t I guess I was just worried about what you would say, what _any_ of you would say if―”

Isaac cut him off by closing the distance between them and pressing his lips down onto Scott’s open mouth.

Scott’s hands lifted to Isaac’s side and it felt like part of the tension between them had lifted.

“I’m sorry I ran,” Isaac said when he finally pulled his lips back. “It was a dumb thing to do and I should know better than to let Erica talk me into things.”

“I should have told you about him,” Scott sighed. “I guess it was dumb of me not to.”

“So we both screwed up then,” Isaac said as he smiled down at him for just a moment before pulling him into his arms. “Can we just… save the discussion for tomorrow?”

Scott nodded against him.

“I love you,” he said.

Isaac just held him tighter.

By the time Erica got back to the loft she trudged in without meeting Derek’s eye. He sat in the kitchen with Cora and got up to meet her in the middle of the room.

She held out his credit card with a guilty look on her face.

“Stiles is going to tell you it was his idea, but I’ve since decided that lying isn’t really the best option here,” she said. “I will send every single pay check your way until I manage to pay it off.”

He looked down at the card for a moment and then back up at her.

“Keep it,” he said. “I wouldn’t have given it to you if I didn’t expect you to use it. Maybe not exactly the way you have but don’t worry about your pay checks.”

“Derek, I can’t―”

“You can,” he said. “Just let me know next time if you’re going to charge a whole weekend to it.”

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly and she heard Cora make a sound from a few metres away and looked up at her. “To you, _not_ her.”

Derek turned to look over at Cora who was just raising an eyebrow at the pair of them.

“She wants my trust? Tell her to earn it,” she said. “This weekend… _all_ of it, won’t happen again.”

She gave him a brisk nod before heading to the stairs and her room without another word.

“She just gets friendlier and friendlier,” Cora said sarcastically and Derek smiled.

“With Erica, that’s a good thing.”

*

Stiles sat on his dorm bed, not quite the luxury of the last place he slept but it felt more like home. He could hear the water rushing loudly through the pipes in the walls as Kyle showered in their shared bathroom.

He looked down at his phone and sighed, picking it up and dialling before holding it to his ear.

“Stiles,” he closed his eyes as the sound of his name in Derek’s voice, as distorted as it may have been through the phone.

“Hey Derek,” he said.

“How was your weekend then?”

 “It was better than I thought it was going to be for a while there,” he said. “It was good to see them again, and just have some fun, you know?”

“You know me,” he said. “I probably don’t.”

“I know I might _say_ that,” Stiles chuckled. “But you know I don’t actually mean it. How was yours?”

“Fine,” he said and he heard Stiles snort on the other end of the phone. “Jackson’s back.”

“I heard, I hope Isaac didn’t fill his head with subjective information,” he said.

“I’m sure he did, but Jackson doesn’t really listen to what other people think.”

“I guess not,” he said. “I wish you were here though… I really miss you Derek.”

“I know,” he said. “I’ll be there next weekend.”

“That’s a whole week away and you know I’ll be studying like crazy for most of it with finals starting the Monday after,” he said.

“Then you know you’ve only got about three weeks until you’re back here,” Derek said.

“I know but please don’t make me wait that long, okay?” he said.

“I don’t think either of us would last Stiles,” he said softly.

“I’m sorry if I was a jerk,” Stiles mumbled.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Cora sooner.”

“Well, you can make up for it and tell me all about her,” he said. “I mean unlike the other two I can’t wait to meet her.”

“You will soon,” Derek said.

“Just promise me you’ll wait until _after_ your next visit to introduce us because between you and me there are things I want to do with you when you get here that would be _really_ awkward with your sister around.”

Derek chuckled. “I promise.”

“First things first I guess, you have to convince Erica to be less… _Erica_ ,” he said. “Oh, I told her to use your credit card by the way, might have to check the balance on that thing.”

He thought about saying something back to him but instead he stayed quiet.

“I uh, I have to go,” Stiles said. “Big paper due Tuesday and I’m still three pages down on the count.”

“I’m sure it’ll be great,” he said.

“I love you Derek,” he said. “I really do wish you were here. I mean if I’m wishing for things I guess I’d wish that Berkeley was in Beacon Hills but, you know.”

“If it was I’m sure you’d be in a lot more trouble a lot more often,” Derek said.

“Hey, you’ve managed to avoid it so far.”

“I love you too,” Derek said. “Good luck with your paper.”

“Text me or something,” Stiles said, and with one more ‘I love you’ he hung up the phone.

He dropped his head back against the wall with another sigh as Kyle walked out with his towel wrapped around his waist.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I just miss when he was around all the time,” he said. “I miss letting him in through my bedroom window because he was just… close enough to come over any time.”

“You know some people will go a whole lifetime and not love someone so much,” he said.

“Maybe they’re the lucky ones,” Stiles said. “Love hurts.”

“Don’t be so melodramatic,” Kyle said. “Just be happy that he loves you back.”

“I don’t think anything else has ever made me happier than that fact.”


	12. Chapter Eleven: Explosive Tendencies

**_Chapter Eleven:_ ** _Explosive Tendencies_

Stiles was studying harder than he had all semester, the sooner he made it through his finals the sooner he was home.

If the idea of seeing Derek every day wasn’t incentive enough to do well, the thought of spending at least a few nights a week eating take-out with his dad certainly was. He hadn’t seen much more of him than the grainy Skype interface on his laptop, and all that did was make him more homesick.

“You need to find new places to study man,” Kyle said as he came back from his group study session. “I don’t think I’ve seen you leave this room since you got back from your little weekend getaway.”

“Okay, firstly, that was three days ago, so it’s not like I’ve been sitting in here for weeks,” Stiles said. “Secondly, I’m studying so you should be praising me on my dedication. Third… I totally went out for lunch yesterday.”

“That last one is a lie, you were going to and then had a breakthrough with one of your focus questions,” Kyle said as he sat on his bed and looked over at him.

“Oh yeah…” Stiles said, dropping his highlighter into his textbook and rubbing his eyes with a tired sigh. “I just want to get through this and not spend my whole break worried that I’m going to lose my scholarship or something.”

“Okay, let me tell you a few things,” Kyle said, sitting down on his bed. “You won’t lose your scholarship. You’re smart and committed, relax a little. And finals are never as bad as you think they’ll be. Believe me when I say the anxiety leading up to them is worse.”

“Still doesn’t really make me feel better,” Stiles said, tapping his pen on the desk.

“Get out of this room Stiles,” Kyle said. “For one thing it’s going to make you feel trapped and claustrophobic and for another… I need the damn room for like an hour.”

“Hot date?” Stiles said with a grin. “Or is ‘date’ too strong a word?”

“I did say I only needed an hour,” Kyle said. “Seriously though, you need to see the sun or something.”

“You’re kidding right? I burn under heat lamps,” he said.

“Then go sit in the shady part of the quad, or how about one of the student buildings? That’s where I meet my study group,” he said. “This time of year they can better than the library, less crowded usually.”

“That might not be too bad an idea,” Stiles said. “I might be going a little stir crazy.”

“A little?” Kyle said with a raised eyebrow.

“So uh, who’s so important that you need me to leave the room huh?” he asked as he closed his books and shoved them into his backpack.

“He’s in one of my classes and I’ve been dropping hints for a while now,” Kyle said. “And don’t look so jealous.”

“I am not jealous,” Stiles said. “You’re probably right about me needing to get out now because when I see Derek again all I’m going to be seeing for days on end is the ceiling or the sheets.”

“God help him,” Kyle said and Stiles tossed a pencil at him.

“Alright, I’m going to Anthony Hall, anytime you want to interrupt my study I will be totally down with that,” he said.

“It’ll probably be a few hours at least,” he said.

“Oh so now it’s a _few_ hours?”

“Shut up and go,” he said.

“If I get sun burnt on my way over there I’m blaming you,” he said, leaving the room with a grin and shutting the door behind him.

*

Erica stood outside the loft with her arms folded as Cora stood by her side just staring at her.

Erica was trying to pretend that it wasn’t bothering her but there was no way to mistake the frustrated tapping of her fingers on her arm as she shot looks back at her trying to get her to look away.

“Do you have to? I mean really?” she said.

“It seems to bother you,” Cora said with the smallest of amused smiles on her face.

“Yeah and a _normal_ person would _stop_ ,” she hissed.

“What’s with all the aggression out here?” Erica turned with a smile as she saw Jackson walking over to them.

She ran to him and threw her arms around him to which he just grunted.

“You know you’ve been away for so long that I actually missed you,” she said, squeezing him tighter.

“That’s great,” he said, squirming to get out of her grip.

“You know it’ll end faster if you just hug back,” she said in his ear and he reluctantly wrapped his arms around hr waist with a roll of his eyes.

She grinned to herself and held him a moment or so more before letting him go.

He’d never admit it, but her hug actually made him feel a little better.

“I hear you’ve met the devil spawn,” she said as they both turned to look at Cora.

“Devil spawn?”

They all turned quickly to see Derek walking over with an amused look on his face.

“Didn’t think that one through, did you?” Jackson said quietly and she just glared at him.

“I take it back, I didn’t miss you at all.”

“So is this it?” Jackson asked. “It’s just us?”

“Scott and Isaac have classwork to finish,” Derek said and Jackson scoffed.

“Great,” he said.

“So what are we doing exactly?” Cora asked.

Derek smiled, folding his arms as he looked around at the three of them.

“I’ve lost a few things and I need the three of you to find them for me,” he said.

“Really?” Jackson said. “We’re playing fetch?”

“You’re tracking down what I’ve lost, and you’re going to make sure I don’t catch you before you do,” he said.

“Well come on then, tell us what we’re looking for,” Erica said.

Derek reached into his pockets and pulled out three seemingly meaningless items and tossed one to each of them.

“That should help with your tracking, you get a one minute head start,” he said. “I find you before you find what you’re looking for, you fail.”

They all took a second to look at one another before turning on their heels and taking off down the road.

“Bet you won’t even get close,” Jackson smirked over at Erica as they reached the tree line.

“Twenty bucks says he catches your ass,” she grinned back.

“You’re on,” he said.

“You’re both idiots,” Cora said as she took in the scent of her item before disappearing into the woods.

“Don’t screw up,” Jackson said as he started running through the trees.

Erica rolled her eyes and ran along the grass until she found a matching scent and then she was into the trees and after it.

Derek watched them go and shook his head.

He hadn’t done much teaching in recent days, but it seemed like a good time to start up again.

*

“Aren’t you going to be late?” Isaac said breathlessly as he and Scott rolled over in the sheets.

“No,” he said as he dipped his head to leave kisses against the side of Isaac’s neck. “I can be fast when I want to be.”

Isaac let out a laugh.

“Not sure if you’re talking about this or getting to work,” he said and let out a groan as Scott left a gentle bite.

Scott shrugged a little.

“Might as well compromise and do both,” he said.

Isaac’s skin tingled with every touch and his body yearned for them to keep going but he put a hand against Scott’s chest and widened the gap between them.

“We should probably stop,” he said.

“Why?” Scott asked, even though he knew the answer.

“Because we’ve been doing this for three days, not that I don’t like this, I _love_ this, I just… I think we actually need to talk this time.”

Scott sighed and rolled onto his back for a moment before he was getting out of bed and searching for his clothes.

“I know,” he said. “I just don’t really know what there is to say.”

“This happened last year Scott, I don’t want to do it again,” he said. “We got past it last time and figured it out but what if it doesn’t work that way next time?”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m not saying what you think I’m saying,” he said as he sat up. “I just think we’re going to sabotage this by being too scared to have a conversation. I don’t want us to just be angry all the time.”

“I know, I mean I can’t tonight, I have a late study class but… tomorrow?” he said.

Isaac just nodded and Scott walked back over with a smile and leant in to kiss him.

“You sure you want to press pause?”

Isaac bit down on his lip as he shook his head.

“I’m trying to be good here and you’re not making it easy,” he said.

“Well then let’s compromise,” Scott grinned as he pulled the sheet back.

He grabbed Isaac’s leg and pulled him around so he was sitting on the edge of the bed, grinning as Scott got to his knees.

“If this is what you call compromise we can do this whenever you like,” he said.

“Shut up and focus, I’m going to be late,” Scott said.

*

Erica ran faster as she honed in on her tracked scent. She knew it was close as the trees flashed by almost in a haze.

She thought she could hear Jackson off to her left but she’d lost track of Cora while ago.

It was then she heard the second set of footsteps approaching from behind.

She skidded to a halt to try and focus on them a little more but almost as soon as she stopped they did too. She tried to slow her breathing as she listened in but her heartrate wouldn’t slow.

She turned back to her chosen path and ran, the scent still strong in the air. It was just a few more steps when she started to lose it,

“Shit, no, no, no,” she whispered to herself, taking the next turn and slowing down as she tried to pick it up again.

It was too late, and by the time she realised it Derek was slamming her into the ground.

She grunted in frustration and just looked up at him as he knelt over her.

“You failed,” he said before he was gone again in search of the next target.

She sat up and jut out her lip, kicking some loose foliage and slamming her fists into the ground in frustration.

Jackson’s eyes frantically searched as he followed the trail, looking for something with a scent that matched. He heard Erica yell from a distance and picked up the pace.

He kept running, trying to get faster but he could already sense Derek closing in.

He darted in a different direction and then doubled back. He paused a moment to check the air before he was off again, only for a few steps before Derek was colliding with him.

His back hit one of the trees and the wind was knocked out of him as Derek took a few more steps towards him.

“You’re fast,” he said. “But you need to be more than that.”

“Told you he’d catch you,” Erica said from behind him as she folded her arms.

“Oh yeah? Where’s your trophy?” Jackson snapped and Derek just rolled his eyes.

“You looking for this?”

They both looked over to Cora who stood holding up a backpack and a smug grin on her face while Jackson and Erica just made irritated noises.

Derek nodded to himself.

“Out of the three of you Cora was the only one to recover something,” he said. “It doesn’t matter though, because all three of you fail.”

“What?” they all said at once.

“I did what you asked, just because they couldn’t―” Cora started.

“What I asked was for you to bring back the things I lost, _all_ of you,” he said. “The two of you were too busy trying to best each other that you got sloppy, I could hear you stomping around from the moment you turned away.”

Jackson and Erica looked at one another and shook their heads as they turned away.

“And you,” Derek said, turning to Cora. “You were evasive and careful, and you managed to find what you were looking for.”

She looked over at the other two with a smile and Erica had to struggle not to complain audibly, instead she just pouted.

“But you were happy to watch them get caught and leave them behind,” he said. “If one of you fails, you all fail. You’re pack, you’re a team. You need to start acting like it.”

“So she’s pack now?” Jackson asked and Derek gave him a look. “Oh I’m not saying I mind I was just wondering… since when?”

“Since I decided to stick around in Beacon Hills for a while,” Cora said.

“How long is a while?” Erica asked dryly.

“Like I said, she’s part of your pack now,” he said. “And all of you need to start acting like it. Starting by working together. Maybe Cora could teach you both a few things about stealth.”

“Oh no, there is no way I’m taking lessons from her,” Erica said.

“You guys really do stomp,” Cora said. “You need quiet feet.”

“I don’t care who teaches who, you need to learn to work together,” Derek said. “Aside from how loud the two of you are, that seems to be something you refuse to do.”

“To be fair I don’t really work together with anyone,” Jackson said. “It’s why I was captain of the lacrosse team. Have them work _for_ you.”

“ _Co_ -captain,” Erica said. “Get off your high horse.”

“That’s hilarious coming from you―”

“Enough!” Derek yelled. “Figure it out. A few months off hasn’t done any of you any favours.”

He turned to walk away from them and back to the loft, clearly frustrated.

“He’s grumpier than I remember,” Cora said.

“Still not going to take lessons from you,” Erica said.

“I could go for a lesson, depending on the subject,” Jackson said.

“You wish,” Cora said.

“Alright, I’m done here,” Erica said. “You guys can teach each other whatever the hell you like.”

“You’re just proving his point,” Jackson called after her but she didn’t turn back.

*

Stiles headed back to the dorm for the night, his day of study actually getting him somewhere.

He felt his phone buzzing in his pocket and pulled it out with a smile.

“Hey, haven’t heard from you in a few days,” he said.

“Yeah well I’ve been busy,” Erica said as she looked herself over in the mirror. “But now I need your help.”

“Have you ever heard the term ‘fair-weather friend’?” Stiles asked.

“Stiles I’m serious,” she said.

“Does this have anything to with your little training exercise today?”

“No, and I don’t want to talk about that,” she said. “I have a date.”

“Is this with that guy from your work?”

“I don’t know how to date Stiles,” she said, completely ignoring his question. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a real date ever and he’s so nice, and I have no idea what the hell to wear!”

“Okay, firstly, you’re going to be fine,” he said. “You’re amazing and he probably already knows that. Secondly, does this not sound like something almost anyone else could help you with? I mean I’ve been told many times that I should not be trusted to give good advice.”

“Stiles,” she said. “I’m nervous.”

“You’ll be great, okay? You’re going to be okay.”

“Well what do I do? I mean how do you… date?”

“Why are you asking me? You think I have any idea? If me and Derek ever end I will be completely done for,” he said. “Have you tried calling Lydia?”

“Of course I have, she was no help,” she said. “She didn’t even answer the phone.”

“Okay, well, I’m about to get back to my dorm so how about you send me a picture of what you’re wearing and we’ll go from there? I promise I’ll be no help but I’ll give it a shot,” he said.

“Thanks Stiles,” she said before she hung up.

She stared at herself in the mirror and stood up straighter with a sigh.

“Hot date?”

Erica spun around to look at the door to see Cora standing there staring in at her.

“Not that it’s any of your business,” she snapped. “But yes.”

“And that’s what you’re wearing?”

Erica glared at her.

“Do you have nothing better to do?”

“Sorry,” Cora said as her brow furrowed and she looked down at her feet. “I meant are you having trouble deciding?”

“I don’t date,” Erica said as she turned back to her reflection. “I mean, not like dinner dates anyway.”

Cora smirked a little and walked in to stand next to her.

“Where are you going?”

“Just to a burger place in town,” she said.

“Then you’re overdressed,” Cora said. “Go for jeans and a nice top, maybe some heels.”

“You go on lots of dates in South America?” Erica asked as she walked over to her set of drawers.

“A few,” she said.

Erica pulled the dress over her head and pulled on a pair of jeans, rummaging around for a shirt to wear with them.

“How about this one?” Cora asked, holding one up from the closet.

“Do you mind?” Erica said.

“No.”

Erica snatched it from her hands and pulled it over her head, adjusting it and staring at herself in the mirror again.

“This isn’t too bad I guess,” she mumbled.

“You’re welcome.”

“I don’t think I said thank you,” Erica said and Cora just looked at her. “But… _thanks_ , I guess.”

Cora smiled and turned around, heading out of her room again. Erica shook her head but she couldn’t deny that her small piece of advice actually helped.

Cora headed down the stairs and Derek watched her as she walked past him.

“I’m going out,” she said.

“Where?” he asked.

“For a walk,” she said without stopping.

Derek sighed but went back to his book. It wasn’t long before Erica came down the stairs exuding a whole lot of nervous energy.

“You look nice,” Derek said and Erica just stopped and narrowed her eyes at him. “What?”

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not,” she said.

“Erica, you look nice,” he repeated.

“Well I’m going to be late so would you mind giving me a lift?” she asked. “It’s not far.”

Derek just got up to follow her out.

*

“Hey,” Kyle said as Stiles walked back into the dorm room. “Did you get anywhere with your study?”

“You know what, I actually did,” he said. “How was your… extracurricular?”

Kyle grinned and opened his mouth to answer but Stiles just put his hand up to stop him.

“You know what, some things are better left unsaid.”

“Have it your way,” Kyle shrugged.

Stiles phone pinged in his pocket and he shook his head.

“This thing has been going off all day…” he said as he looked down at the messages.

**_Erica:_ ** _All good, I figured something out._

**_Erica:_ ** _Maybe give Derek a call when you get a chance, he’s looking especially mopey tonight._

“Everything okay?” Kyle asked.

“Yeah, just… I can’t wait until finals are over and I can go home,” he said. “Not that you aren’t half decent company but I’m kind of looking forward to not waking up to your snoring every day.”

“First semester’s the hardest,” he grinned.

Stiles decided to shower before calling Derek, taking out his phone once he was tucked up in his sheets.

“I hope you’ve done your study for the day,” Derek said as he answered.

“I hope you’ve done your teaching for the day,” Stiles quipped back. “Tell me, how did that work out for you?”

“I could just hang up.”

“Come on, I was just kidding,” Stiles said.

“So am I for thinking any of them are willing to listen,” Derek grumbled.

“I guess that’s what happens when it’s just Erica and Jackson, and I don’t know what Cora’s like but if she’s half as stubborn as either of them then you’ll need Isaac and Scott to balance them all out.”

“And Boyd,” Derek said.

“They’ll sort themselves out eventually,” Stiles said. “Look I uh, I really want to talk but I’m exhausted and there’s a whole lot of study to do tomorrow too so can I call you then?”

“I’ll talk to you then,” Derek said.

“Don’t stress too much about them,” Stiles said. “You’re a great leader.”

“Goodnight Stiles,” he said.

“Love you.”

Stiles wriggled down further in the sheets and sighed. He was almost done for the semester and then he could go home, maybe he would feel less like he was missing out when he was finally back in Beacon Hills.

*

Erica sat nervously at the table pretending to look over her menu as Rajanish did the same opposite her.

She could sense his nerves but somehow she thought hers were worse. He looked up at her with a smile and she tried to smile back before looking down at her menu again.

“So, uh, how was your weekend with your friend?” he asked after what seemed like a very long time in silence.

“Good,” she said with a nod and he looked over expecting her to say something else but she seemed almost unable to do so.

“That’s good,” he said and they exchanged a smile before looking back to the menu.

“Sorry, I mean, it was…” Erica started. “It was good to hang out again, with him, them. It was um, it was fun.”

He nodded again and Erica was about ready to sink through the floor.

“Sorry I’m… I’m not good at this,” she said. “Small talk and you know just general… _this_.”

“Me either,” he said. “I think I just get nervous and then forget how to hold a conversation.”

Erica laughed a little. “I just worry I’m going to say something stupid and you’ll think I’m a complete idiot.”

“I could never think that,” he said. “And you can't be any worse than me. I swear I don’t ramble as much when I’m at home.”

“So tell me about that then,” she said.

He started out shy but once he started talking about his family he found his voice. His mother worked as a cleaner at the local elementary school and his father was in accounts at a local business. He was the oldest of four kids, two girls in middle school and a young brother in the fifth grade.

“I’m surprised I got out for the night, my little brother usually can't sleep unless I read to him or tell him a story,” he said.

“That’s completely adorable,” Erica said and she saw the flush build in his cheeks.

“Not when he wants the same story every night,” he said. “There’s only so many times I can read those books.”

“Kids like what they like I guess,” she said.

“So what about you? What’s your family like?” he asked and she felt herself stiffen up.

“They’re fine,” she said.

He waited a moment, expecting a little more to come out of her mouth but she just grabbed her drink and took a long sip.

“Just… just fine?” he asked.

“I don’t really talk about them,” she said flatly and he nodded, fidgeting with his cutlery a little.

There was an awkward silence between them and Erica pushed her chair back.

“Would you give me a second?” she asked but she was already on her way to the bathroom when he answered.

She took out her phone before the door had even closed on her and tried calling Stiles but he didn’t pick up. With a frustrated grunt she tried Lydia to the same result. She tried Isaac and finally had a voice on the end of the line.

“Hey Erica, everything―”

“I need your help,” she said, cutting him off. “I can’t do this, how do you sit opposite someone and just… _talk_ to them? I can't even answer him properly and even if I could am I supposed to tell the truth or something that he wants to hear? Help me.”

“Okay I didn’t really follow that but I’m guessing this has something to do with your date?”

“What if he thinks I’m crazy? How much am I supposed to say?” she asked. “Why is this harder than just sleeping with someone?”

Isaac chuckled and he could practically see the fury on her face.

“Because you’re confident in your body, you’re hot and you know you’re hot. Getting naked is easy, you’re exposed but not in a way that scares you,” he said. “Your problem is that you’re not confident in yourself.”

“Real deep Isaac,” she said.

“Do you want my opinion or not?” he asked and she just sighed.

“Fine.”

“You’re scared of anyone getting to know you so you don’t let them, hell, even I don’t know that much about you and you’re calling me to ask for advice.”

“To be fair you were my third choice, the others didn’t pick up.”

“I’m hanging up on you.”

“No, no, no! Please… I’m listening,” she sighed.

“Not everyone is going to judge you for who you are,” he said. “If you don’t give anyone the chance to know you you’re always going to be scared that that no one’s going to want to, or that they won’t like it when they do.”

“I asked for help, not a sonnet,” she said.

“Don’t be so defensive,” he said. “If you like him, let him know you. Like I said, I don’t know a hell of a lot about you but I still think you’re pretty great.”

“Really?” she said quietly.

“I’ll deny it if you repeat it,” he said warmly. “Just don’t think so much, be you.”

“I don’t know if you’re trying to tell me to relax or that I usually don’t think a whole lot,” she said.

“Okay now I’m really hanging up on you, enjoy your date.”

“Wait, Isaac?” she said.

“ _What_?”

“Thank you.”

“Go, have fun, get off your phone and _talk_ to the guy.”

She took a look at herself in the mirror and she knew Isaac had a point. She was scared and until she faced that fear it wasn’t going to get any better.

She headed back out into the restaurant and sat down in her chair.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry if I―”

“I uh, I don’t live at home anymore, I’m almost completely moved out,” she said. “My mother is… difficult and I doubt she even realises that most of my stuff is gone.”

“So, where do you live now?” he asked.

“With a friend, and I guess with his sister now,” she said.

“So it was just your mother?” he asked.

“I have an older sister but she moved away a few years ago and we’re… not close. She was too much like my father,” she said. “But I don’t talk about him, I don’t talk about any of them.”

“Okay,” he said with a smile. “I’m happy to listen to anything you want to talk about.”

She put her arm up on the table and opened her palm to let him slip his hand into hers.

Maybe it was going to go smoother than she thought.

*

Stiles was up early the next morning ready for another day to focus on his study. He was heading back to the same study room he had been in the day before, admitting that Kyle might have been right about a change of scenery.

He knew that if he buckled down and focussed now he could make it through his exams and not be so worried over the spring break. To an extent he was kidding himself, he would worry about his results no matter how hard he studied, but at least Derek would be there to tell him to stay sane.

He thought about how good it would feel, how it used to feel before he left and he felt an ache inside him where he couldn’t quite remember it, not in the way he wanted to. He wanted to remember every little detail, even though he knew that was impossible.

There weren’t many people out as he walked through the campus but he thought to himself that there should have been because it was such a clear and beautiful day.

If he was a different guy he would have considered studying in the quad, but even the nice weather wasn’t enough to lure him outside. If he was going to focus he knew he had to be inside.

He passed a few people as he headed to the study area and a pretty brunette girl shot him a smile, something that almost never happened, so he figured that it was going to be a good productive day.

When Isaac woke up he felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach, he and Scott had finally agreed to have a conversation long overdue and he knew he couldn’t have it properly until he was allowed to tell him the whole truth.

Maybe it wasn’t overly important at that moment, but he knew holding back a secret like that would come back to haunt him.

He got up quietly and left a note for Scott to tell him where he was headed, he was surprised he didn’t wake up as he was leaving.

He took the long way to the loft, walking slowly as everything ran through his mind.

He’d had this discussion with Derek a number of times before and every time he’d had the same answer. With every time he heard it the tensions did nothing but grow.

He hoped that this time it would be different but he felt like he already knew how it would play out.

By the time he reached the loft it was late morning, he let himself up and walked in to take a seat at the bench. He heard footsteps moving upstairs and it wasn’t long before Derek was coming down the stairs to meet him.

“Isaac,” he said.

“Well it’s not the tooth fairy,” he said and Derek just raised an eyebrow.

“Does that ever get a laugh?” he asked.

“Well I’m not really here for a laugh,” he said. “Is anyone else here?”

“Cora went out for a run, Erica’s still asleep,” he said.

“So it was an early night for her then?”

“Something tells me you’re not here to talk about Erica’s date,” Derek said. “What’s on your mind?”

“You’re not going to like it,” Isaac said.

“This is about Scott,” Derek said with a shake of his head and Isaac could already feel the frustration sinking in.

“I’m not going to stop asking you this Derek,” he said. “Do you have any idea how guilty I feel at having to keep what I know from him? I don’t know if you keep this kind of thing from Stiles but if you do then I feel sorry for him.”

“This is not a secret that needs to spread,” Derek said. “You don’t understand what it could mean―”

“You keep giving me the same argument,” Isaac groaned. “I don’t know how strong we are right now but I don’t want to test it right now.”

“Isaac, you need to―”

“Trust you? Yeah, I know,” he said.

“What the hell is going on down there?”

They both looked up to see Erica standing at the top of the stairs.

“Nothing,” Isaac said and she stumbled down as she rubbed her eyes.

“Sounds like a disagreement if you ask me,” she said.

“How much did you hear?” Derek asked and Isaac rolled his eyes.

“God forbid someone else hear about it,” he muttered.

“Relax, okay, whatever you’re bickering about I’m still in the dark about. I don’t care about it either,” she said.

“How was your date?” Isaac asked, knowing that his discussion with Derek was very much over.

“Fine,” she said with a nod.

“That gave me nothing,” he said.

“Yeah well,” she said.

“You could at least give me something,” he said.

“Do I have to?”

Derek’s phone started to ring and cut through their petty words. He grumbled as he answered it and walked into the kitchen.

“Stiles,” he said.

“Hey, just taking a break and thought I’d call,” he said, getting up from his desk and taking a slow walk through the building.

“Well I thought you would want to tell me how it went all things considered,” Isaac said to Erica.

“Why the hell are you in such a bad mood?” she snapped.

“Did I interrupt something?” Stiles asked as he heard the two of them in the background.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” he said. “Let me call you back in a minute.”

“Okay, I’ll be timing you,” he said and he hung up, wondering how _that_ conversation was going to go as he kept walking.

Derek glared over at Isaac and Erica as they quarrelled.

“This is exactly what I was talking about yesterday,” he said to Erica and they both looked up at him. “This doesn’t feel like a pack.”

“Gee Derek, I wonder why,” Isaac said and Derek just shook his head.

“You need to start trusting me,” he said to Isaac. “And _you_ need to start working with others, not against them.”

“How am I supposed to trust you when you give me half the information?” he asked.

“And I know you’re talking about Cora,” Erica said.

“I’m talking about the way you fight everything,” Derek said and Isaac gave her a look because as much as he wanted to disagree with Derek on anything at this point, he couldn’t deny the truth in that.

“If I argue and say that I don’t I just prove you right anyway,” she said.

“We need to get this figured out,” Derek said. “And I’m willing to compromise to do it.”

He turned to Isaac and they shared a look. He was right, something had to be done.

*

Lydia sat in the coffee house and typed out a reply to Erica.

She had missed a few calls from the day before because she had been out with some of the girls celebrating the last week of semester before finals.

She tried to think of something that didn’t sound like an excuse but nothing sounded any good. She excused herself from the group and headed out into the courtyard where it was quiet to make her call.

“Hey Lyds,” she narrowed her eyes in confusion at the voice that came through the phone. “Look I can’t chat for long I’m waiting for a call, what’s up?”

“Stiles?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah… who were you expecting?”

She looked down at her handset to see that it was Stiles’ number that she had dialled, not Erica’s and she couldn’t understand why.

“I uh, I must have pressed your number by mistake,” she said quietly.

“And here I was thinking you missed me,” he said with a laugh.

The sounds that she had gotten used to hearing had somehow become louder. She could hear voices whispering and felt a tugging sensation in her gut that she couldn’t explain.

“I… I don’t…” she said softly.

“You okay Lyds?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah I just… just a weird feeling,” she said as the voices got a little louder.

She looked up and walked slowly over to one of the climbing vines that wrapped around the courtyard fence, reaching out to take one of the tendrils in her hand.

“Finals must be getting to you too,” Stiles chuckled through the phone as Lydia stood transfixed by the vine between her fingers. “Hey look, Derek’s calling me back, I have to go.”

Almost as soon as he’d spoken the vine seemed to catch fire, the flames chasing the tendrils up the fence and spreading with a loud crack that set the whole thing alight in a wall of red flames.

“No Stiles, wait,” she said.

“I’ll call you back soon,” he said and she shook her head as her hands shook.

“No Stiles please! Wait Stiles, don’t!”

She heard the end of call tone and looked down at the screen before looking back up at the fence, no flames, no fire, the end of the vine still hooked on her finger.

“No…” she whispered as she dialled Stiles’ number again, only for it to go straight to voicemail.

*

Stiles couldn’t hear Lydia saying much on the other line but his phone started flashing as Derek called him back.

“I’ll call you back soon,” he said as he switched through to Derek’s line. “Have you diffused the situation yet?”

“Let’s just say we have a few things to work on,” Derek said and Stiles heard Erica say something in the background. “ _Erica_.”

“A few?” Stiles laughed as he turned a corner and leant against a bookcase.

He felt someone bump his shoulder as they passed him and he turned to see the brunette from earlier. She mouthed ‘sorry’ as she walked on and entered a room full of computers, closing the door behind her.

“Stiles?” Derek said.

“Sorry what? I missed that,” he said as he tried to look in through the window of the room, the sign on the door stated that the room wasn’t for use.

“Are you busy or?”

“No, no, I uh, must have walked through a patch without reception,” he said.

“I just said that maybe you’ll be able to reign in the attitude when you’re back,” he said,

“Mine or theirs?” he said with a grin.

“Yours, I can handle,” he said.

“Oh yeah?” Stiles said quietly. “Care to explain how?”

“Can you please tell Stiles that no one will be doing that during this phone call?” Isaac called, picking up his words as he sat on the couch nearby.

“Did you catch that?” Derek asked with a smile.

“You can tell Isaac that eavesdropping has never been one of his attractive qualities,” Stiles said.

“Something tells me I won’t need to repeat that,” Derek said and Stiles smiled at the sound of his voice.

The door to the computer room swung open and Stiles looked over as the brunette came walking out a little faster than she had done before. She shot him another smile and he returned a weak one as his eyes followed her.

She was quick to leave the room and he took a few steps to follow her.

“Stiles?” Derek said again.

“Yeah hold on, just give me a second,” he said, looking down the hallway that she had just walked down but she was nowhere to be seen.

He turned back to look at the room she had just left.

“What the…”

Derek took the phone away from his ear as it cut out on him. He looked down at the face to see that the connection had been lost.

“Everything okay?” Isaac said.

“Bad connection I think,” Derek said.

Almost at once both Isaac and Erica’s phones began to ring and they all exchanged a glance. Derek was immediately dialling Stiles’ number again.

“Scott?” Isaac said as he answered. “Did you get my note?”

“Lydia?” Erica said but she didn’t have a chance to say anything else.

“You need to put Derek on the phone right now,” she said.

“Scott, slow down, what’s wrong?” Isaac asked as he got to his feet.

They almost didn’t need to say what they had called for, the look on Derek’s face said it all as Stiles’ phone went directly to his message bank.

“It’s Stiles.”


	13. Chapter Twelve: Trouble

**_Chapter Twelve:_ **

_Breaking News out of California there has been an explosion at Berkeley University’s Anthony Hall early this morning. Two are confirmed dead while many others remain trapped inside the building._

_With the stability of the structure questionable, emergency services are exhausting all options to evacuate survivors._

_The cause of the detonation is currently unknown but authorities suggest that it may have been a deliberate act of terrorism against the school less than a week out from finals._

_Federal officers are on scene and ask that any witnesses come forward with information that could help track down those responsible for this heinous act._

_If you are having trouble contacting a loved one you think may have been affected please contact the hotline below._

_*_

Scott woke up that morning to find himself alone in bed.

Usually Isaac was far less than subtle when he woke up but clearly today he had a reason to let him sleep in.

He felt uneasy at the thought of having the conversation he knew had to come, part of him wondered if they were made of enough to make it through.

He got out of bed and headed to the kitchen when he noticed the note by the coffee.

_Gone to Derek’s, let me know when you want to have that talk – Isaac_

He wondered if Isaac had gone over there to check on Erica after her date. He had overheard a rather sweet conversation between the two of them the night before but hadn’t brought it up.

That side of Isaac was one of the reasons Scott loved him so much.

When it was nearly lunch time he knew he had held off as much time as he could manage. He got dressed and tried to ignore the churning in his stomach until he realised that this feeling was more than just nerves.

It was as if the feeling became concentrated the moment he noticed it because suddenly it felt like a punch to the guts and all the wind was knocked out of his body.

As he sucked in hard for breath he felt a throbbing pain run through his body only the ache wasn’t his own. It was second-hand pain and it was clear now exactly where it was coming from.

“Stiles…”

*

“Erica you need to listen to me, you need to put Derek on the phone right now!” Lydia said again. “I called him I tried to call him but he wasn’t picking up and I saw… I saw…”

“What did you see?” Erica asked but Lydia couldn’t bring herself to say it.

She knew what she had seen and she knew what she could feel but she couldn’t explain any of it, not without sounding crazy.

“I’m not crazy,” she whispered.

“I know,” Erica said. “Lydia I know you’re not crazy but you need to tell me what you saw.”

“Stiles,” Lydia said. “Someone needs to talk to Stiles, _now_.”

“Scott, slow down, what’s wrong?” Isaac asked as he tried to listen to both his words and Lydia’s through Erica’s phone.

“Something bad has happened,” he said. “Everything hurts but it’s like it’s not my pain you know? It’s his, it’s that bond.”

“To Stiles? What? What is it?” Isaac asked as he looked up at the panicked expression on Derek’s face.

“I don’t know!” Scott said. “I don’t know what happened but I know he’s hurt, badly. Isaac I think… I think he might be dying.”

*

_This is an update on the Berkeley bombing, we now have three confirmed dead and dozens still missing as emergency crews try to find a stable way to enter the former student building._

_Surrounding buildings and official university venues are being evacuated and civilians are being asked to stay away from the campus until the threat of a further attack is eliminated._

_Federal officers are still trying to determine the source of the explosion but sources are saying that this was a deliberate attack with the intent to kill._

_*_

“That can't be a coincidence,” Erica said as she hung up the phone. “There is no way they both call like that unless something is seriously wrong.”

“He’s not answering,” Derek said. “It doesn’t even ring.”

Isaac’s heart was pounding, he couldn’t help the fear that ran through him as he wondered what the hell was going on.

He felt a text message come through to his phone and was surprised to see it was from Jackson.

**_Jackson:_ ** _Dude, doesn’t Stilinski go to Berkeley?_

**_Isaac:_ ** _What do you know???_

**_Jackson:_ ** _Turn on your TV_

**_Jackson:_ ** _Or radio… it’s everywhere_

Isaac didn’t hesitate, he walked straight over to the TV set and turned it on, flicking to one of the main stations.

Jackson wasn’t wrong, the news was everywhere. Instant media really lived up to its name.

“A bomb?” Erica said breathlessly and Derek shushed her as he tried to listen, but it seemed as though all anyone knew was that there had been an explosion.

They all stood transfixed, as if the two things couldn’t possibly be linked, like what they were seeing couldn’t possibly have happened, not to Stiles.

As the minutes went by more information streamed in, Derek nearly crushed the phone in his hand as he took it all in.

“We need to go out there,” Isaac said. “Erica’s right, there are no coincidences with things like this.”

“Tell Scott we’ll come to pick him up now, he’s our only link to him at the moment,” Derek said.

Isaac nodded and hit dial.

“Should we call his dad?” Erica asked and Derek nodded.

Erica pulled out her phone to call him and Derek sent a message to Cora.

**_Derek:_ ** _Where are you?_

“Hi Sheriff? Yeah it’s Erica,” she said, her heart pounding so loud she could almost hear it echo. “Have you seen the news?”

Derek tried calling Stiles again but all he got was the voicemail.

“Hey it’s Stiles, you know what to do.”

“Stiles if you’re there you need to call me back now, I love you,” he said, knowing that it was probably no good.

“He’s driving out there,” Erica said. “He said he was going straight out there now.”

Derek nodded and Isaac shoved his phone back in his pocket.

“Scott’s ready to leave, he’s just scared that the pain is going to get worse, or you know, stop altogether,” he said.

“So let’s go,” Erica said but Derek gave her a look.

“Erica…” he said and she just shook her head at him.

“I’m going Derek,” she said.

“Erica I need you to stay here,” he said. “Keep an eye on Cora and―”

“No, you can't be serious!” she said. “Derek you can't force me to stay here, I’m coming with you!”

“Erica I’m not asking,” he said. “You need to stay here.”

“You think you’re the only one who cares about him?” she said as she raised her voice. “Or are you just punishing me for leaving last weekend?”

“I’m telling you to stay here because I need you to keep an eye on Cora, make sure she’s safe and out of trouble,” he said.

“You sure you trust me enough for that? Or is it a convenient excuse to stop me from going with you?”

“Stay here and keep an eye on her!” Derek yelled and even Isaac cowered away a little. “It’s not up for discussion.”

She didn’t say anything back, she just watched as he left, Isaac not far behind him. Isaac shot her a sympathetic look just before he was gone, leaving her standing alone in the loft, her eyes stinging with tears of anger and worry.

“God damn it,” she said as she let them fall from her eyes. “Stiles please be alright.”

*

The air was thick with smoke and dust from the rubble, the broken lights and electric circuits sparked but what remained of the room was mostly dark.

The explosion had taken out a corner of the building, collapsing some of the connecting walls and leaving what remained very unsteady. Those on the outside trying to recover people from inside were stuck trying to find a way to do it that wouldn’t cause the rest of the building to collapse in on them.

Stiles lay slumped against a wall, the remnants of one of the tables lying over his legs and as he began to stir there was a ringing in his ears that blurred the rest of the sounds around him.

He tried to open his eyes but the dust stung them and even that seemed to feel like a tremendous effort. His chest was aching and it was as though he could feel his chest pounding against the inside of his ribs.

He blinked his eyes open, took a deep breath in and choked on the soiled air, sending him in to a fit of coughing that made his chest feel as though it would split open. He could still barely hear anything but the ringing in his ears but if he could he was certain that all he would hear would have been his painful screams.

*

Derek drove faster than he should have to pick up Scott and Isaac sat nervously in the passenger seat just staring out the window.

“You don’t think you were a little harsh with her?” he said.

Derek kept his eyes trained on the road ahead and didn’t say anything.

“Look I know that Stiles is who we’re worried about right now, but it’s going to be a few hours before we can even get there to see if―” he cut himself short and tried not to think about what he almost said. “I’m just saying.”

“Someone needs to stay here,” he said stoically. “She thinks I don’t trust her but I wouldn’t have asked her to do this if I didn’t.”

“But you didn’t really ask, did you?” Isaac said as they pulled up out the front of his house.

Scott came running to the car and climbed in the back, he looked clearly distressed and almost ill.

Isaac didn’t wait for Derek’s reply as he turned to face Scott, reaching out to take his hand.

“It’s never been this bad before,” he said as Derek sped off. “I can just… I can just feel this ache, and it’s all over, not just like something you can ignore.”

“Like when he got kidnaped by―” Isaac started. “Like last year?”

“Kind of, just worse,” Scott said.

Derek took a sharp turn and Isaac’s head hit the roof before he was turning to look at him.

“Okay I know we want to get there and fast but I don’t think causing a roll over is going to help that,” he said but Derek said nothing, his eyes still focussed on the road ahead.

“Just let him drive,” Scott said.

Isaac turned in his seat to look at him and they locked eyes for a moment before Isaac was sitting back in his seat and staring out the windscreen.

“Letting him drive,” he said, the sick feeling in his stomach growing.

*

Lydia stood just staring at the TV screen in the coffee place, much like everyone else was as the waitress turned the volume up.

People whispered between themselves and some of them were making phone calls to people they knew. She felt numb, the buzz of the room around her seemed to just dodge her, leaving her in a bubble that made all of those sounds go quiet.

She had been pushing away all of the things that she had been told about what she was. She didn’t want to believe that any of it was true. The more that she read the less she wanted to know, and now she felt almost responsible for what could have happened to Stiles.

If she was better, if she could control it and use it then maybe she wouldn’t be ill to her stomach with the thought that Stiles might not make it out okay.

Maybe if she was better at being a banshee she would know for sure that he was alive.

All she had for now was hope, just like everyone else.

*

Stiles opened his eyes again, some of the dust having settled. He realised that he must have blacked out.

There was still a ringing in his ears and his heart was pounding furiously. He looked up and around the place but there wasn’t much difference to before. He didn’t even know how long he’d been in there for.

He moved his foot a little to try and kick off some of the debris from the table and hissed in pain. There was maybe a break, maybe a sprain, whatever it was it hurt just to move.

He lifted his head off the wall a little, a few sounds starting to creep in.

He tried to look himself over but he was still slow. His left hand felt hot, he could feel it throbbing and he turned away fast when he looked down at it.

He couldn’t tell whether it was just burns or whether there was something more under them. Either way he knew it wasn’t good.

There was blood staining the torn sleeve of his shirt and as he used his right arm to prop himself up he winced in pain, it seemed that nowhere was free from some kind of damage. He used his right arm to pull his left over his stomach, tears rolling down his cheek with the pain of it.

He managed to drag himself free of some of the debris, looking up at the sound of the bricks above him shifting. When he managed to move himself it was a slow crawl and he tried to edge his way towards the only other person he could hear in the room.

By the time his hearing had come back to him enough he realised that she was wailing in pain.

She wouldn’t stop, she didn’t say anything, she just cried out in loud howling sobs.

“It’s alright,” Stiles croaked even though he knew it wasn’t.

Her injuries looked worse than his, there was a large patch of red staining the side of her shirt and Stiles could see where burns had left their mark on her skin. One of her legs was very clearly broken and the other was torn up pretty badly.

She reached out and dug her nails into his leg, crying as she did and Stiles shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he said, not really knowing what to do but knowing there was nothing he could do to help her.

He was barely staying conscious himself.

He lowered himself slowly down so he was lying beside her, his arm causing him too much pain to hold him up any longer.

He stared up at what remained of the ceiling and everything ran through his mind at once.

Was anyone coming? How was he going to get out? He had to call Derek back, call his dad, call _anyone_.

It was then that he heard footsteps coming towards him but he was too lost in his thoughts to turn towards them.

Barely conscious and everything around him becoming dull to his senses he took in a few deep breaths as the shadow fell over him. He tilted his head to look up and almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“What…” he managed to choke out.

Kyle looked down at him before crouching by his side.

“Don’t say anything,” he said. “Just trust me.”

*

The drive to Berkeley had been a tense one to say the least. There was still a little while to go and none of them had said much at all since their first terse words to one another.

Scott sat in the back with the phone pressed against his ear.

The sheriff had his phone on speaker as he also made the trip to the bay.

“There’s a lot of traffic out here now,” he said. “Pretty sure they’re closing roads and diverting us around the campus.”

“It’s probably going to be hard to get in there,” Scott said and he heard the sheriff’s loud sigh.

“I keep calling and getting his voicemail, I don’t know why but I just keep hoping he’s going to pick up,” he said.

“We don’t know anything for sure,” Scott said. “I mean I’m just going off a feeling and… well, a whole lot of coincidences…”

“You know what Stiles says about coincidences,” he said with a nervous chuckle. “And this feeling of yours, is that some kind of wolf thing?”

“Kind of,” Scott said. “I don’t know if Stiles ever told you about―”

He stopped mid-sentence and his brow furrowed. It was like someone had just flipped a switch, one that turned off all the pain inside him and broke that bond.

“Scott?” the sheriff said and Isaac turned back to look at him.

“Uh, yeah, I think my phone is dropping out of service, I’ll call you back when we get there,” he said as he hung up the phone.

“What is it?” Isaac asked.

“I don’t… it’s gone…” he said.

“What’s gone?”

“I don’t feel anything,” Scott said and Derek looked at him in the rear view mirror. “It was like all the pain just… disappeared!”

“That’s not good is it?” Isaac said as he looked back to Derek.

“We need to get there now,” Scott said.

Derek didn’t say anything, he just put his foot down a little harder on the accelerator.

*

Boyd had been on the road most of the day, walking rather than hitching a ride. Some days he just preferred being alone to having to make small talk or the feel of the wind on his skin instead of the musty air from the inside of a bus.

He’d been out most of the day so when he finally made it into a small roadhouse along the highway he still hadn’t heard about what had happened in California.

He saw a few images on the screen but it wasn’t until he heard two of the waitresses talking about it that he realised that it hit a little closer to home.

“Apparently they still haven’t made it in yet, they’re like clearing all the rubble and stuff but there’s still people in there,” one of them said.

“Well what do you want them to do? Send people in there who might get hurt if it comes down around them?” the other said back. “They’re trying to get them out the best way they can.”

“All I’m saying is there’s got to be more they can do, it’s not like it’s a real big building.”

Boyd read the words on the screen, ‘Berkeley Bombing’ and pulled out his phone to call Erica. It wasn’t like he knew something could have happened to Stiles, but he just had that sinking feeling in his stomach. If there was ever something to happen it was bound to happen to one of them.

Even if it was just a coincidence that there was a bombing at Stiles’ school it made him want to talk to someone from home and Erica was always his go-to.

She sat in the loft, on the floor and leaning against the wall. When the phone started to ring she frantically fished it out of her pocket but was almost slightly disappointed to see Boyd’s number.

“Boyd,” she said. “I was kind of hoping you were someone else.”

“Well that’s not really how you answer the phone to a friend,” he said.

“Have you seen the news?” she asked. “Out of all the places, all the people…”

Boyd sighed.

“Don’t tell me…”

 “Please, you thought there could be something wrong the second you saw the news,” she said. “Stiles is in trouble and Derek is forcing me to stay here, _alone_. Well, not completely alone but Jackson’s an asshole and Cora is off god knows where… I just want him to be okay Boyd.”

“It’s Stiles,” he said. “If he’s in trouble he’ll figure out a way to get himself out.”

“Can you just talk to me about something else? I can't think about it anymore, I hate waiting to hear from them,” she said.

“Okay, well I think I’m coming home soon,” he said and she sat up a little straighter.

“Really?” she said hopefully. “What about finding Daisy?”

He smiled to himself a little as the waitress poured some coffee into his mug.

“I guess it’s taken a while but maybe I’m just tired of looking for someone who’s not lost, or doesn’t want to be found,” he said.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve missed you,” she said. “And you saying you’re coming home is probably the best thing I’ve heard in a while.”

“I said I’m thinking about it,” he smiled. “Don’t go marking dates off in your calendar.”

She rolled her eyes but managed a smile.

“Okay, okay,” she said.

“So, tell me what’s happening then,” he said and she just sighed.

*

Stiles’ eyes shot open and he had to take a moment to think about what was happening around him, for a second he thought that all of it might have just been a dream.

He lifted his left arm up to look at his hand and blinked a few times. It was perfect, not a scratch.

There was a little blood smear but it wasn’t the burned and broken mess it had been. He pushed himself up and patted himself down. The ache in his chest was gone and the pain that had been running down his leg was only a memory, he wasn’t even sure if it was that.

He looked around the room in confusion and managed to get to his feet. He turned when he heard the footsteps coming from where the hallway had been not so long before.

Kyle walked through and looked at him, giving him a smile.

“What did you do?” Stiles asked. “You did this, this was you.”

“Can we talk about it later?” Kyle asked with a shrug. “Right now we need to get out of here.”

“I was… my hand…” Stiles mumbled. “What are you?”

“You’re not completely healed, couldn’t exactly let you leave without a scratch,” he said as he took another step into the room. “The cameras are everywhere, you wouldn’t believe what it took to get in here.”

He pointed to a few tears in his clothing where there were still fresh scratches and Stiles just stared up at him.

“What the hell _are_ you?” he asked again.

“Would you shut up so we can get out of here?” he said. “Not sure if you can tell but this isn’t exactly the safest place to be right now.”

“What happened?”

“You tell me, they’re saying a bomb went off!” Kyle said.

“How long have I been in here?”

“A few hours, the place is falling apart and they can't figure out how to get in here with the emergency techs,” Kyle said, taking a quick glance up at the ceiling. “They don’t want to risk anyone else’s lives trying to recover anyone without weighing their options. You’re like right in the middle of the place dude.”

Stiles looked around, trying to put together all the pieces he could remember.

“There was a girl…” he said quietly before he heard someone sobbing and remembered the woman from before.

He looked down to see her only a few feet from him and dropped to her side again. He wasn’t even sure she knew he was there, she seemed to be dropping in and out of consciousness.

“Stiles, we really have to get moving,” Kyle said. “I can explain later if you just―”

“We can't leave her here,” he said. “Can you help her? Like you helped me?”

Kyle looked around the room a moment.

“Stiles, there’s not really the time for―”

“I’m not leaving her behind in here, either you help me or I’ll find a way to do it on my own,” he said.

Kyle walked over to crouch on the other side of her, looking up at the ceiling for a brief moment before letting out a loud sigh.

“There are some things that I can't fix Stiles,” he said. “Her leg… it’s pretty bad.”

“Anything is better than this,” he said as he put a hand to the side of her face as she looked deliriously up at him.

“Here,” Kyle said as he stripped of his outer shirt and pushed one of the sleeves under her thigh. “Make a tourniquet about here. Pull it tighter.”

Stiles did as he said and she whimpered a little. He scrambled back a little and Kyle leant over to cradle her head in one hand and put his other on her side.

“Don’t be scared,” he said quietly.

Stiles watched carefully as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh, when he opened them again it was as if they were glowing an iridescent purple and the girl stopped sobbing and just look in a long deep breath.

It was mesmerising to watch, the burns that left trails up her neck and chest seemed to recede, her cuts grew smaller, enough to account for the blood but manageable in their pain.

There was a loud crack as her broken leg snapped into place and Stiles felt a little uneasy in his stomach at that, but then again the whole thing left him feeling like none of it was real.

Kyle slowly pulled his hands away but the girl was out cold, the purple fading from his eyes as he looked up at Stiles.

“Does that happen every time?” he asked.

Kyle smiled.

“No, just when the injuries are as bad as this,” he said. “You want to get her out of here? We need to go, _now_.”

Stiles nodded, reaching to grab her arm but one look at her leg and he knew it wasn’t going to work.

Kyle must have thought the same thing because he was gesturing for Stiles’ jacket which he stripped out of quickly. They carefully wrapped it under her and tied it around to keep her stable.

“How can you just choose which parts to heal?” Stiles asked. “I mean how does that work?”

“Can we talk about this later? This roof is coming down soon,” he said. “Stiles, you’re lucky you’re alive, other people aren’t.”

Stiles looked down at his feet with a furrow in his brow as they tightened the jacket sleeve around her leg and each reached down to hoist her up.

“What’s the plan then?” Stiles asked just as a loud cracking sound showered them in brick and plaster dust.

“Don’t touch anything, I think I found a safe way out,” he said.

They dragged the girl to the other side of the room and away from some of the rubble. Stiles could feel the sweat on his brow as they moved and kicked away the remnants of tables or chairs from their path.

“It’s back through that hallway and then out a window on the left,” Kyle said.

“You mean that hallway that’s about four feet smaller than it used to be?” Stiles asked with his eyebrows high.

“It’s probably the most stable part of this building right now,” Kyle said. “My guess is that it wasn’t just one bomb, if it was even a bomb at all.”

Stiles thought about the girl he had seen earlier, the pretty one who had smiled at him in the morning and then rushed away right before the blast went off. He couldn’t remember much about her but the way she had looked at him as she passed him on her way out, he couldn’t help thinking that maybe part of this was his fault.

“Stiles?” Kyle said and he snapped out of his thoughts.

“Sorry, I…”

“Don’t worry, I just said you go first and stand in the doorway, I’ll bring her with me.”

Stiles looked down the hallway and pulled a face.

“I’m not overly good with small spaces,” Stiles said.

“Hey,” Kyle said as he put his spare hand to Stiles’ cheek. “You’ve got this, now go.”

Stiles just nodded, one last look down the corridor before he was crouching down to crawl through.

*

It seemed like all the entries to the campus were blocked off, traffic was backed up around every corner and local police were manning the streets to keep back any onlookers or people who wanted a front row seat for the action.

Derek pulled down a side street and the three of them were racing towards the roadblock closest. Isaac and Scott slipped through the crowd behind Derek as he pushed through.

“Let us through,” he said to the man standing by the barrier, the look he gave him made even Isaac avert his eyes.

“Sir, no one is getting through,” he said, clearly irritated by Derek’s demeanour. “We need to keep the area clear for the emergency crews.”

“Let us through,” Derek said again.

“Our friend’s in there,” Scott added quickly. “Please, we just want to know that he’s alright.”

“Sorry boys, I can’t let you in,” he said again.

“Oh come on!” Isaac said. “Have a freaking heart!”

“I’m under orders here,” he said, one of his colleagues turning to check on the situation. “No one gets in.”

Derek looked like he was about to pick him up and toss him aside or break out the fangs and just roar in his face. Luckily, he didn’t get the chance.

“Now I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, and I know that this isn’t a situation any of us want to be in, but what I will tell you is that the last thing you want to do is keep a man from his son,” the three of them turned to see the sheriff standing beside them. “My kid is in there and I don’t know whether he’s safe or not, so you can tell me that none of us are getting through, but I’m getting in there whether you like it or not.”

The man seemed to have lost his words so his colleague walked over and gave them a sympathetic look.

“Let them through,” he said.

“You know we’re not supposed to―”

“It’s his kid man,” he said. “Come through.”

“They’re coming with me,” he said and gestured to the others.

The other guy looked like he was going to say something, but instead he just nodded towards the campus and let them through.

“Thank you,” Derek said as they made their hurried way down the road.

“I know you would have found some way to get in whether they let you or not,” he said. “But I’m too old for all that sneaking around crap.”

“This way,” Isaac said as he picked it up into a jog.

They all quickened their pace to follow him and it didn’t take long to find the right place. There were people everywhere and there were more TV crews than any of them had ever seen.

There was a heavy police presence and the medical staff were patching up people left right and centre. There had been a lecture going on in one of the rooms on the left, apparently they were still trying to extract people from the wreckage.

Scott took hold of Isaac’s hand as they saw them loading a covered body into one of the ambulances and he could hear people crying from so many different places.

There was a work crew trying to prop up the flimsy remains of the building and a team of emergency response personnel waiting to go in after anyone still trapped.

“Hey, do they know who’s in there?” Isaac asked someone standing close by and she shook her head.

“They’re still trying to figure out who was in there, they think they’ve accounted for everyone in the lecture but it’s everyone else… they don’t know,” she said, the fear written all over her face.

The sheriff was looking around furiously, trying to see if anyone getting medical attention could have been his son.

Derek was honing his senses, trying to block out the chaos and find him on that alone but there was so much going on in such a small area that it was hard to keep focus.

He just had to find him, he had to.

*

Stiles breathed in short shaky breaths as he crawled through the small space that used to be the hallway.

“You doing okay?” Kyle called from the other end.

“Great, just great,” he said back, wincing as he sliced his hand on some shattered glass.

“You’ve got this!”

Stiles came out the other side and let out a sigh he’d been holding in as he turned around.

“Okay!” he said.

Kyle turned around so he was pulling the girl with him as he backed himself down the small space.

Outside the building the work crews lifted a piece of the wall from one side and a whole lot shifted from the centre of the structure. Stiles backed into the doorway like Kyle had said and watched as bricks crashed down on the rubble in the room they’d just been in.

“Might want to hurry it up a little!” Stiles called.

“Working on it!”

Some more rubble fell on Stiles’ side of the divide and he watched him nervously. When he finally cleared the gap Stiles helped him with the girl and they got to their feet in the doorway.

“Which way?” he asked and Kyle nodded towards another small gap over to their left.

“Two metres through and you’re out into the gardens on the west side,” he said. “Let’s go, you drag her with you and I’ll follow.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Here…” Kyle lifted the girl up to carry her over some debris as they made their way to the corner. “It’s a smaller gap then before but you’ve got this.”

“Are you sure?”

“Stiles you need to get through there now because whatever they’re moving out there is bringing this side down,” he said. “Go, now!”

Stiles crouched down to crawl through the small space, his stomach turning as he did, turning in the cramped space before he made it outside to help pull the girl through.

He pulled her back up against his chest as he tried to pull her with him, struggling to hoist her as he tried to lift himself out through the broken window space.

It was then that one of the slabs above them started to shift and to everyone crowded around the building watching the scene, the plaster and tiles came crashing into the ground with loud thuds and sent a cloud of dust up into the air.

It was then that Derek locked on to him, his scent faint but definitely Stiles, and overwhelmingly he could smell blood.

“Stiles!” he called, moving through the people to get to the other side of the building, the law enforcement holding as many people back as they could.

They ran to one side, trying to see through everyone and the sheriff’s eyes were madly scanning through the people and trying to pinpoint where he could be.

Barely a minute had passed when they emerged, Stiles was limping and Kyle was probably doing most of the work as they carried a girl between them and Kyle yelled for assistance.

There wasn’t a person who could have stopped them from pushing through the barriers.

“Son…” the sheriff breathed before he was running towards him. “Stiles!”

The EMTs quickly brought over a stretcher to load the girl on and Kyle helped Stiles stay on his feet as he finally breathed a sigh of relief, looking up when he heard his name.

“Dad,” he said as the sheriff pushed past anyone in his way to launch himself at Stiles and hug him with so much intensity that it hurt his bruised body, but Stiles didn’t care.

The healing Kyle had done was to help the worse injuries, he was still battered and bruised.

“I thought… we all thought…” he muttered against the side of his head and Stiles closed his eyes as he held him tightly.

“How did you―”

“Scott, he had some _feeling_ …”

Stiles knew exactly what he meant and his dad had tears in his eyes as he pulled back to look at him.

“Stiles,” Derek said quietly as he stood just behind them, his face laden with concern as he looked him over.

The sheriff stepped aside to let Derek in and Stiles threw himself into his arms and just took a deep breath in. Derek held him like he was trying not to hurt him but he tightened his fingers in his shirt to keep him there.

Stiles could almost hear his heartbeat slowing back down to normal as he held him and he tilted his head up to let Derek gently kiss him on the mouth.

The adrenaline cut through most of the aches in his body but he could feel Derek already trying to take some of the pain away and he smiled because he never could seem to help himself.

“How do you always seem to find trouble?” Derek whispered as he kissed him just below the ear.

“I don’t care if I find trouble,” he mumbled back. “If it means you’ll find me too then trouble can find me any day.”


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Reunions

**_Chapter Thirteen:_ ** _Reunions_

They had all of thirty seconds together before the medical technicians were rushing over to Stiles and trying to check him out.

He insisted he was fine, instead trying to ask a million questions and get back to Derek and his father. Both of them were more than insistent on keeping him exactly where he was until he was given an all clear.

Scott and Isaac smiled over at him which just made him try to wriggle away more, much to the annoyance of the EMT trying to treat him.

“Look I’m fine, I just need to―” he started.

“What you _need_ to do is sit still,” she said. “You’ve got plenty of time to do whatever else later.”

“If I could just―”

“You know just last week I did CPR on a woman for a half hour but it didn’t do any good,” she said as she held up a finger and a flashlight. “See what she didn’t do was get a concussion test done hours earlier when she’d been in a minor car crash. She looked fine but that bleeding on the brain just wouldn’t stop. By the time I got there it was already too late to help her.”

Stiles sighed and followed her finger without a fuss.

“I guess that story works on everyone, huh?” he said as she took his hand to look at the slice from the glass.

“I wish that’s all it was,” she said. “Come on, we’ll help each other out a little here, you want to know what’s going on right?”

 _Well, actually I kind of just want to know what the_ hell _Kyle is, and who set this bomb off, and whether the girl who smiled at me had anything to do with it, and whether I could have been to blame for this,_ he thought.

“Feels like everyone else knows what happened but me,” he said.

“Well there was at least two bombs, we know that,” she said. “You should be proud that you managed to help that girl get out, her leg looked pretty bad from what I saw before they put her in the ambulance. You’re lucky as hell to get out of there with such minor injuries.”

“So I’m good to go now?” he said and she pushed him back down.

“Not so fast,” she said. “They want everyone taken to the hospital for a full work up, plus you’ll probably get questioned by the police.”

“I don’t think I saw… _anything_ ,” he sighed. “I mean one minute it was a normal day and the next I wake up and half the building’s gone.”

“Either way, anyone who even _heard_ it go off is going to have to make a statement,” she said. “So now you can get up, but you need to hop into the back there and let them make sure you’re all good.”

“I thought you just did that?”

“I don’t have x-ray and CT,” she said. “You can take someone with you.”

Stiles looked up at the four of them and his dad stepped forward to put a hand on his shoulder. Derek gave him a nod.

“We’ll meet you there,” he said. “Go.”

Stiles huffed out in frustration because other that the gash on his palm he felt fine.

“Where did Kyle go?” he asked. “I need to talk to him too. And the girl from before, is she okay?”

“The only person I’m worried about right now is you,” the sheriff said. “Get your butt into the back of that ambulance.”

“We’ll find Kyle,” Isaac said. “Can you stop being stubborn for five seconds and do as they say?”

“Not to mention you need stitches in your hand and I’m out of numbing cream,” said the EMT with a smile.

Stiles sighed.

“Yeah okay,” he said, getting up and walking over to Derek to wrap his arms around him. “I’ll see you soon?”

“I’ll be right behind you,” he said softly as he leant in to kiss his lips.

He gave Scott a hug, trying to hide the wince as the bruise on his side made itself known.

He and the sheriff got into the back of the ambulance and he looked out as they closed the doors. Derek sighed and felt some of the weight leave his shoulders, he was going to be okay.

“I can go and look for Kyle if you guys want to follow them to the hospital,” Isaac said. “I think I saw enough of him last weekend to be able to track him down.”

“He did kind of disappear pretty quickly,” Scott said. “Don’t you think that’s a little weird?”

“The guy came out of that building completely fine and is nowhere to be seen,” Isaac said. “It’s more than a little weird.”

“Go,” Derek said. “If you can find him then bring him to the hospital.”

“I’ll go too,” Scott said. “If we can’t find him soon we’ll come straight down.”

Derek nodded before he was gone, making his way back to the car so he could meet Stiles and the sheriff at the hospital.

“You know where to go?” Scott asked.

“I can guess,” he said.

“Alright then,” he said. “Lead the way.”

*

Erica sat watching the news play over the same four clips from the bombing scene, every ten minutes or so repeating the golden line.

“ _In case you’ve just tuned in…_ ”

It was starting to get irritating.

When her phone finally buzzed with Isaac’s number she answered in less than one ring.

“What’s happening?” she asked quickly.

“He’s alright,” he said. “They just took him down to the hospital to get checked out but he seems totally fine.”

She let out a sigh of relief and slumped back against the wall to sit on the floor.

“So he was there? I mean he really actually was _there_?” she said.

“Yeah, but you want to know what’s weird?” Isaac said. “He came out with his friend Kyle and both of them seemed basically untouched.”

“It’s weird that they would be together?” she asked. “Not sure how true that is.”

“No, I mean that they were both there, fine, and Kyle completely disappeared as soon as we showed up.”

“He could have been with the police or something,” Erica said. “From the news it looks like they’ve got everyone in California down there.”

“Stiles seemed really adamant about talking to him, something’s weird,” he said. “We’re on our way to the dorms now to try and find him.”

“You really think that’s where he’d go?”

“It’s worth a shot,” he said.

“Well, Stiles is okay, he’s _alive_ , and that’s the main thing.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

She was about to say something else when she heard the door open and got to her feet and Cora came walking in and heading straight to the kitchen.

“I’ll call you back,” she said as she hung up quickly and took long strides over to her. “Where the _hell_ have you been?”

Cora turned to give her a once over and just shrugged.

“Out.”

“Out? _Out_? Really, that’s all you’re going to give me?” Erica said.

“Not sure if you realise this but I don’t have to tell you anything,” she said. “And you don’t trust me anyway.”

“I can’t believe I’m stuck here with you,” Erica grumbled.

“Who said you’re stuck here?”

“Because Derek and Scott and Isaac have all gone to Berkeley and I’m _stuck here_ because Derek told me I need to keep an eye on you,” she said. “Make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

“Those were his exact words?” she said with an eyebrow raised.

Erica narrowed her eyes.

“One of my best friends was in serious danger and I had to stay here to ‘keep an eye on’ someone I really, _really_ don’t care about right now,” she said. “Can’t you tell that something is wrong?!”

“Yeah, you smell like nervous energy,” Cora said.

“And you smell like… ash,” Erica said. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Let’s go for a walk, it’ll make you feel better,” she said, making her way back towards the door.

Erica stared after her with a bewildered expression.

“Come on!”

She grunted and her nostrils flared as she began to follow her out if for nothing else than to finally know exactly where it was that she went.

*

Stiles struggled to lay still in all their machines as he was put through about as many different tests as possible. By the time he was sat in a bed and waiting for the results he was just about ready to leave.

“Dad, seriously, I’m fine,” he said. “I told you, I can’t really explain it but I’m _fine_.”

“I’m sure you are,” he said. “I think we’ll still wait for the second opinion though.”

Derek walked into the room and Stiles huffed out loudly.

“Here I was hoping you were a doctor so we could hurry this up,” he said and Derek smiled.

“Sorry to disappoint,” he said as he walked over to kiss his forehead. “They’re on their way now.”

It wasn’t much longer before one of the doctors walked in with a policewoman in tow and the sheriff got up to stand by Stiles.

“So the good news is,” the doctor began with a smile. “Internally you’re looking fine, not a thing wrong so you’re lucky all things considered.”

The sheriff sighed in relief and Stiles put his hand on his arm.

“Bad news?” Derek asked warily.

“Only bad news is that you seem pretty bruised up,” she said. “And you’re going to have to come back to get those stitches out in about a week. You’re probably going to notice it more tomorrow but I can already see areas of swelling so we’re going to get you something for that. If you’re in a lot of pain come back in and see us.”

“Bruising?” The sheriff said. “That’s the worst thing? Thank god.”

“So I can go? I mean I can get out of here?” Stiles asked.

“Not quite, I have a few questions to ask you, alone if possible?” the policewoman said.

“I’d rather stay if that’s alright?” the sheriff said, shifting his hand to Stiles’ shoulder.

The woman looked to Stiles who nodded before looking up to Derek. He gave him a short smile and headed out, the doctor following shortly after.

He checked his phone to see a few messages, one from Isaac and another from Erica.

 **Isaac:** The guy’s a ghost or something, no sign. On our way to the hospital now

 **Erica:** I’m going to kill your sister.

He sighed, he knew he should apologise for making her stay behind but at the same time it frustrated him that he had to take it to the point where she couldn’t say no in order for her to listen.

As he waited he sat outside the door and listened to the questions that Stiles was being asked, and the answers he gave. Most of them were truthful, some of them were possibly only half truths.

_“You were in an area quite close to one of the blasts yet you managed to escape virtually unscathed, is there anything you want to say about that?”_

_“I didn’t plan it that way, I… I don’t know,” Stiles said. “I saw someone and I followed them and I guess I was just in the right place at the right moment.”_

_“You saw someone suspicious?” she asked._

_“I don’t know, I guess she just… moved very quickly,” he said. “She just kind of looked at me as she walked past, and then just disappeared.”_

_“Can you describe her for me?”_

_“I didn’t get a good look at her, I mean I could recognise her face if I saw it but I guess, long brown hair, dark eyes, beautiful… I mean it was probably nothing I just find it weird when attractive people look at me for more than half a second.”_

_“And you didn’t recognise her?”_

_“Never seen her before,” he said. “Honestly I didn’t really see anything and even if I did I’m not sure I remember a lot of any of it anyway.”_

Derek heard the flicker of a lie in that, knowing that there were probably things he wanted to go over with the others first, or maybe even Kyle.

He heard Scott and Isaac coming from up the hall and stood to greet them as they came around. Isaac just shrugged his shoulders with a shake of his head.

“No luck then?” Derek said.

“Not a sign of him anywhere, and even his scent is hard to follow,” he said. “How’s Stiles?”

“Bruised, and ready to get out of here,” he said.

“We brought him some clothes from his dorm,” Scott said, holding up a bag. “Figured he might want something a little less… torn up.”

“Sounds like they’re done with him in there,” he said and Scott smiled before opening the door slowly and walking inside.

“So, what are you thinking?” Isaac said in hushed tones.

“Not sure yet,” Derek answered. “If anyone was targeting Stiles you’d think they wouldn’t have done something so public.”

“You would think,” Isaac said. “Doesn’t mean they wouldn’t.”

“I know, we need to find his friend, find out what else happened in there,” he said.

“You jealous?”

Derek turned to him with a slow growl and his eyes narrowed.

“Oh come on is it really too early to make a joke?”

“I just don’t think you’re very funny,” Derek said with a slight smirk.

“Funnier than you,” he said.

*

“Would you slow the hell down?!” Erica called after Cora as she slipped through the trees like she knew the woods better than any other place in the world. “Where are you going?!”

“What? Can’t keep up?” she called from up ahead and Erica grunted irritably.

She heard her phone start to ring in her pocket and fished it out, hovering her thumb over the green button a moment before answering it.

“Hey,” she said quietly.

“Hey it’s, it’s Raj,” he said and she smiled a little. “Just wanted to see how you were doing? I saw the news and I think I remember you saying your friend went to Berkeley.”

“Yeah, yeah I mean he worried me for a while there but he’s fine,” she said.

“Well, if you ever want to talk or… I mean you know, you can call me, if you want,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said. “Can I call you later? I just… I’m kind of in the middle of something right now.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” he said. “Just wanted to see if you were okay is all.”

“Thanks Raj,” she said as she hung up the phone, looking down at the screen with a small sigh.

“Your boyfriend?” Cora said from by her side and Erica flinched.

“How do you do that? How do you just sneak up on me?” Erica snapped and Cora just blinked at her. “And _no_ , we’ve been on one date so he’s not my _boyfriend_.”

“The date you were freaking out over the other week?”

“Do you intend to be any help at all? _Ever_?”

“How’d it go?” Cora asked and Erica bit down on the inside of her cheek.

“It went great,” she said.

Cora smiled and tilted her head to the side. “Lie.”

“It’s not a lie!” Erica said defensively. “And you can’t talk about lying.”

“I don’t lie,” Cora said. “You’d know if I was lying just like I know you’re lying now.”

“I’m not ―” she sighed. “It’s not like it was bad, I just… it wasn’t…”

“The sex was bad?”

“There was no― what kind of girl do you… I’m trying something new okay?” she said. “There was none of that.”

“Bad conversationalist then?” Cora asked as they started to walk.

“No, he was funny, I was witty and I told him… I actually talked about things,” she said.

“So what’s the problem?” she asked.

“I don’t know, just…”

“You know, you just don’t want to tell me,” Cora said.

“I don’t like you,” Erica said.

“Never said I liked you either but at least I’ll give you an honest opinion,” she said and Erica scoffed. “You think I lie but I just know how to answer questions.”

“You don’t answer questions,” Erica said. “You don’t actually give anyone what they’re asking for.”

“You can't detect a lie if you don’t tell one, you can't get in trouble if you don’t give them the answer they’re looking for,” she said. “When you grow up with werewolves you learn a thing or two.”

“Yeah well it’s irritating.”

“You’ll figure it out soon enough and you can be just as irritating.”

“I doubt it.”

They kept walking a few more steps.

“So what was so bad about this date?”

Erica groaned and looked over at her.

“You just don’t stop do you? You really want to know?” Cora nodded. “It was the end of the date that was weird.”

“So it was bad _kiss_ ,” Cora said. “You can teach him to be better.”

“It wasn’t… there was no kiss,” Erica said.

“Then how do you know it was a date?”

“There was just an awkward…” she said, ignoring Cora’s comment. “Handshake hug.”

“A what?”

“Yeah, it was… I mean he’s an awkward guy, maybe…” she sighed. “I don’t know, I don’t do this stuff it’s too complicated.”

“Why didn’t you just kiss him?” Cora said. “It’s not the fifties, just do it.”

“I just told you, I don’t do this, I’m not good at this,” Erica said.

“But you’re good at the rest of it,” Cora said. “Or at least you say you’re used to it. So do it.”

Erica sighed and kept walking.

“Where the hell are we going anyway?”

“Nowhere in particular.”

*

Stiles and the sheriff walked out into the waiting area and Stiles was called over to sign some of his paperwork after already having made a statement to the police in the room before.

The sheriff ran a hand through his hair and sighed, letting out the exhaustion and relief as he walked over to the other three standing to one side.

“I don’t know about your boys but I’m in dire need of a good lie down,” he said.

“Do you have somewhere to stay?” Derek asked.

“To tell you the truth I haven’t really given that part much thought,” he said.

“I’ll make a few calls, I’ve already got something lined up, I’m sure there’s room,” Derek said.

“I couldn’t―”

“You can’t drive home,” Scott said.

Derek put the phone to his ear and took a few steps away.

“He knows a lot of people,” the sheriff said.

“I think his family had a lot of connections,” Isaac said.

“Not like mob connections or anything,” Scott added and Isaac just gave him a look.

“I didn’t say mob connections, I just said connections,” he said and the sheriff chuckled.

“Werewolf connections I’m guessing?” the sheriff added and both Scott and Isaac just shrugged.

Neither of them really knew, they could only really guess themselves.

Stiles walked over to them with a smile before he looked up at the TV screen to see the continuing coverage of the events earlier in the day. His face dropped a little as he looked at the numbers on the bottom of the screen, _2 dead and dozens injured_.

“Hey, just be glad you’re okay,” the sheriff said as he put his arm around him.

“People died,” he said quietly. “I just… it doesn’t seem real, you know?”

The sheriff squeezed him a little tighter as Derek walked back over.

“It’s all sorted,” he said.

“Derek, I can’t let you pay for―”

“He did me a favour, nothing to pay for,” he said. “I can take you to get your car if you like, I’m sure none of us want to spend too much more time here.”

“I completely forgot about that,” he said.

“I’m happy to wait here while you two go if you like,” Stiles said.

Derek walked over and put his hand on his chin, tilting his head a little so he could place a kiss on his mouth.

“We won’t be long,” he said quietly.

Stiles just smiled and blinked slowly, “I hope not, I’m actually… exhausted.”

The two of them left quickly and Stiles sat with Scott and Isaac in the waiting room chairs.

Stiles smiled at someone across the room that he recognised, another student from the college who he had seen in lectures. He didn’t know his name, or any other information but this event meant that it didn’t matter.

He looked back up at the TV, thankfully the first number was still two. No one else had died yet.

Scott and Isaac were talking about the attack, what could have happened, whether or not they believed what the news was saying about who was behind it.

That was when someone caught Stiles’ eye as walked into the hallway to the right towards the bathrooms. He strained to look as they passed and got out of his chair.

“Where are you going?” Scott asked, getting up with him.

“Bathroom, just,” he said without turning to look at him. “I’m fine, I’ll be back.”

Scott watched him and gave Isaac a look, he just shrugged back.

Stiles walked through the doors quickly and saw the door to the men’s room closing slowly. He strode over and pushed it open and looked inside to see Kyle leaning against one of the sinks.

“What the hell?” Stiles said as they stared at one another. “Where did you disappear to?”

“What does that matter?” he said.

“Okay, I have a splitting headache and I’m already questioning everything that’s happened today I don’t need your sketchy answers.”

“Okay, alright,” Kyle said. “I just thought I better come by and see how you were.”

“How about telling me… _anything_ ,” Stiles said. “Maybe start with why you just disappeared right after.”

“They didn’t need to question me or treat me, I would have just been wasting everyone’s time so I left,” he said. “Your friends came looking for me but… I didn’t think you would mind if I came here to visit you myself.”

“Of course not,” he said. “What did you do to me back there? How?”

“Okay, you have a few questions, I know―”

“A _few_? You think I have just a _few_ questions?” Stiles said. “What exactly are you?”

“That one might take a while to explain,” he said.

Stiles shrugged and just looked over at him.

“Okay,” Kyle said. “I’m what some would call Addonexus.”

“A what?”

“Hard to explain, but I guess to put it simply I can heal wounds, I don’t age like a normal human, I’m _not_ a normal human, I see auras and have other… abilities but that’s a little different,” he just looked up at Stiles who didn’t say anything. “There’s not a lot of literature so I’m not surprised that even you haven’t heard about it. Not that any of it is completely correct, it’s so outdated.”

“Wait so if you don’t age like regular people how old are you?” Stiles asked and Kyle just smiled.

“I’m coming up on a bit of a milestone,” he said. “Next one will be thirty.”

Stiles let his mouth drop, “You’re nearly thirty years old?”

“I look pretty good for my age I know,” he said with a smile. “I’ll tell you more later, I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

“Did you know?” Stiles asked. “About―”

“About Derek and the other two out there?” he asked with a smile. “I knew exactly what Derek was the moment I met him. Alpha and all. I suspected something about you when I met you. I mean your human but your aura is… interesting, I knew there was something about you.”

“My aura? And wait, you knew I was dating an alpha werewolf and you still couldn’t tell me what you were?” he said.

“I’ve had a few different encounters with werewolves, I was trying to get a feel for Derek before I came out so to speak,” he said.

“After meeting Isaac and Erica you were still in doubt?” Stiles asked.

“They’re also pretty interesting,” he said. “You should get back out there to them. We’ll talk, later. I’ll tell you what you want to know, just not here.”

“Okay,” Stiles said. “Can you just tell me one thing now?”

“What do you want to know?”

“What else can you do? You know, other than healing?”

Kyle smiled and shook his head.

“There’s a lot of things I can do, none of which I’m going to discuss in a hospital men’s room,” he said. “Go and get some sleep and call me tomorrow.”

Stiles’ shoulders dropped as he thought about doing so, “my phone… I don’t have it.”

“So I’ll see you when you get back to the dorm,” he said.

“Do you know who it was?” Stiles asked, his eyes a little glassy. “The ones who died?”

Kyle sighed and nodded, looking down at his feet. “I’ve been here a long time, they were both students. They weren’t even in the building they were in the café outside and just… in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

This time it was Stiles’ turn to nod and Kyle walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulders.

“Don’t think too much into it, just be thankful that you’re alive,” he said.

“I suppose I should thank you for that?” he said.

“You would have lived whether I was there or not,” he said. “Come find me when everything settles down, we’ll talk then.”

He gave him a warm smile before walking past him and out the door. Stiles was still reeling from everything and when he headed back out into the hall and then waiting room Kyle was gone, as if he hadn’t really been there at all.

They waited for Derek to get back with Stiles’ dad, it took a little longer evading traffic but eventually Derek called Isaac and the three of them made their way outside to the cars.

Scott and Isaac were fussing over Stiles far too much and his father wasn’t much better when he was sitting in the seat beside him. They followed the Camaro out to a hotel by the coast, the sheriff made a comment about it being a nicer place than he’d ever stayed in and Stiles shrugged and said something along the lines of ‘that’s Derek’.

Turns out Derek knew the owner, greeting him with one of his smiles that he reserves for only when he needs something off someone. The man hugged him and Scott and Isaac gave one another strange looks before he was escorting them up to their rooms.

He had three reserved and the sheriff told Stiles to go on in with Derek.

“I’m probably going to hit that bed and crash, you two should have some time together,” he said and Stiles pulled him in for a long hug.

Derek handed Isaac and Scott a key to one of the rooms, “behave.”

They looked at one another and then back to Derek.

“When do we not behave?” Isaac said.

“When was the last time you were in a hotel room in this part of the state?” he asked and Scott tried to hide his smile as Isaac shrunk about a foot.

“Alright, we’re going,” he said.

As the sheriff headed into his room Scott grabbed Stiles in a hug before he and Isaac retreated. Stiles turned to Derek who just opened the door to the room down the hall to let him through.

Stiles dragged his fingers over Derek’s stomach as he walked past, turning once he was in the room to face Derek as he shut the door behind him.

“I was starting to forget what you looked like,” he said and Derek shook his head.

“It hasn’t been that long Stiles,” he said.

“It was longer than I ever planned it to be,” he said. “I know, I’m being selfish for wanting you to come and see me when your sister had just come back, I know that, I’m just irrational and frustrated and I missed you.”

Derek took a few steps forward and slipped his arms around Stiles’ waist gently, letting his fingers under his shirt and press against his skin, Stiles felt the ache as he lifted his hands to caress the sides of Derek’s face.

“I missed you too,” he said quietly before Stiles was pulling him down into a kiss.

Derek felt some of the tension leave his body, he felt Stiles relax into him and held him closer. A gentle moan slipped from Stiles’ lips and Derek felt him shift his hips forward a little. Derek pulled away and took a step back.

“Stiles, no,” he said.

“What do you mean no? Why not?” Stiles asked.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.

Stiles scoffed, “Oh come on it’s been a while but it hasn’t been _that_ long.”

“ _Stiles_ ,” Derek said. “Not what I meant.”

“I know, I know exactly what you meant but if it hurts that’s my problem, not yours. Yeah, I can feel the bruises but you know what I really _want_ right now? You, okay? I want you.”

Derek sighed which irritated Stiles, he walked over to Derek and put his hands against his stomach.

“Can you stop being such a sourwolf for like an hour and just, I don’t know, enjoy yourself?”

Derek looked up at him with a slight smile on his mouth.

“I haven’t heard that one in a while, I thought you might have given it up,” he said and Stiles pulled at his shirt.

Derek lifted his arms to let Stiles pull it over his head and toss it to the floor.

“Never, you’re stuck with that one,” he said, his fingers running over Derek’s chest until they were halted at his belt buckle.

As he began to loosen the clasp he leant in, his lips pressed against Derek’s neck for a moment before he was grazing his teeth over his skin and pulling back gently, never to leave a mark.

Derek closed his eyes, pushing his shoes off his feet as Stiles tugged at his jeans and stripped him down. He gave him a little shove and smiled as he looked over at him standing naked in front of the bed.

He exuded confidence, and for a good reason. Stiles spent longer staring at him than he intended to, he had just missed him. All of him.

“Are you just going to stand there looking at me?” Derek asked with an arrogant smirk on his lips that made Stiles’ heart beat a little faster.

He shook his head quickly and stripped out of his clothes quickly, taking the two steps to get to Derek in a flash.

Derek bent his knees and wrapped his arm around Stiles, lifting him off the ground and pulling his legs either side of him. Stiles was quick to close the distance between their mouths and this time neither of them held back.

It was frantic and desperate, both of them had been holding back how much they had been missing this but there was no point denying themselves the feeling that they craved.

Derek walked them over to the wall, pressing Stiles against it and letting out a low growl at the sound that came out of Stiles’ mouth. This time it was his turn to nip and bite at his neck, always careful to be gentle but when Stiles’ hot breath was in his ear, his fingers tangled tightly in his hair as he panted the word ‘harder’ it was impossible not to at least leave a mark on his skin.

Derek’s hands held Stiles’ hips tightly, gently rocking them as Stiles tried to move faster.

“Slow down,” Derek breathed in his ear before his teeth were pulling at his earlobe.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said and Derek chuckled before kissing him gently and pulling him away from the wall and towards the bed.

He lowered him down slowly and pushed his arms up and over his head, kissing him and parting his lips so his tongue could slip through, tasting and tormenting him and Stiles just arched his back up and moaned into him.

“You know this isn’t going to go exactly the way you want it to,” Derek said, leaning his forehead against Stiles’ as he rocked his hips and put a hand between them to hold their cocks together and grind against one another.

Stiles’ mouth was parted and his eyes closed as he managed to breathe out a reply.

“How do you figure that?”

“You think I drove up here planning to end up like this?” he said.

“So?” Stiles panted and Derek raised an eyebrow at him.

“ _Stiles_ ,” he said.

“Stop worrying about me so much,” he said.

Derek’s eyes softened.

“I can't do that,” he murmured.

“Well just listen to me then,” he said, grabbing Derek’s wrist and pulling his hand to his mouth, taking two of his fingers between his lips and sucking them into his mouth.

Derek closed his eyes and let out a long and controlled sigh and Stiles felt his cock twitch against his belly.

“What you’re doing now,” Derek said as he slipped his fingers out of Stiles’ mouth and reached down to rub them against his entrance. “Should be criminalised.”

Stiles bit down on his lip as Derek made slow circles with his fingers before he was pulling away and holding himself up above him.

“What happened to should be criminalised?” he said irritably.

“I know you think I have no control but I do, and I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. “I didn’t say I was finished.”

Before Stiles could say anything else Derek was lowering himself down and Stiles couldn’t quite find the words to argue.

*

Erica stood on a thin beaten track with her arms folded.

“It’s getting late, can we go now?” she said.

Cora jumped from the branch in the tree above her and landed by her side.

“You’re really tense, did you know that?” she said.

“I’m serious, I’m tired of this chasing after you crap,” she said. “I’m hungry so why can't we just get something to eat instead of wandering around in the woods.”

“I like it because it’s usually peaceful. You just can’t quite shut up for long enough.”

“If I wanted peace I would leave you on your own here,” she said. “But Derek asked me to keep an eye on you so you’re stuck with me.”

“Did you hear that?” Cora asked, turning to look over Erica’s shoulder.

“Yeah, it’s probably Jackson because I asked him to come down here,” she said, listening to the sound of footsteps approaching.

She turned around and the familiar scent hit the air as the footsteps went quiet.

“Wait…” she said quietly.

She looked around again and she heard Cora’s heart start beating faster.

“I heard a rumour that a Hale had come back to Beacon Hills,” they both spun around to the source of the voice.

“You have got to be _fucking_ kidding me,” Erica said with a snarl.

“I just didn’t believe it was true until now,” Peter said with a curled smile as he looked over at his niece. “Welcome home.”


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Velocity

**_Chapter Fourteen:_ ** _Velocity_

Peter stood smugly a few metres from the two of them as Erica glared over at him and hoped he couldn’t smell her nervous energy.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her body still and her gaze unfaltering.

“I thought I told you?” he said. “I heard that I had family back in town, and who doesn’t love a family reunion?”

“I’m sure Laura didn’t really appreciate it,” Erica said coldly.

“How did you hear about me?” Cora asked and Erica could hear the speed of her heartbeat quicken. “Who told you I was here?”

“I have many sources of information,” he said. “It’s so good to see you.”

He started to take a step forward and Erica stepped in front of Cora to stop him.

“What do you _want_?” she said through gritted teeth.

“I already told―”

“I don’t mean the whole family love and friendship bullshit, I mean the truth,” she said. “What are you _really_ doing here?”

“Surely you know when I’m lying,” he said.

“You _and_ her have this thing that you do where you don’t lie but you don’t actually tell the truth either,” she said, gesturing back to Cora. “Maybe you did hear that Cora was back and wanted to see for yourself but I don’t believe for a second that you came here for sentimental reasons. What do you want from her?”

“Already so protective,” he said.

“You’re a manipulative sociopath,” she said, turning to look at Cora. “Not sure if Derek had the chance to cover all of that yet.”

“He told me a few things,” she said.

“And where is my nephew? Surely he wouldn’t let you out of his sight for too long at a time?” he said and there was a pause before Erica spoke up again.

“We’re out for a walk, he trusts me to be able to keep an eye on her,” he said.

Peter smirked. “I’m not sure whether that’s a lie or if you just don’t believe it yourself.”

“I don’t really need anyone to keep an eye on me.”

“Clearly you do because otherwise you would have ended up out here alone with _him_ on your trail,” Erica hissed. “And I’m not lying.”

“Well then?” he said. “Where is he?”

Erica didn’t say anything, she just stared at him while her nostrils flared.

“Someone’s coming,” Cora said quietly as the footsteps approached.

“It’s Jackson,” Erica said without looking over at her.

“What the hell is he doing out here?” she asked.

“I texted him earlier when I was following your dumb ass out here,” she hissed.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Jackson said as he came jogging into the clearing.

Peter rolled his eyes in the most over exaggerated way he could manage and turned slowly to give Jackson a smile.

“ _That_ seems to be the question of the hour,” he said.

“I wasn’t asking you,” Jackson said without looking over at him.

“Can I have a moment with my niece please?”

“I don’t think―” Erica started.

“I can deal with him,” Cora said.

Erica turned to look at her, the anger clear on her face before she sighed slowly.

“You want to do it, fine,” she said. “But don’t even think about walking out of my sight.”

Cora just gave her a nod before Erica started walking towards Jackson, pausing beside Peter and looking up at him with her mouth set in a hard line.

“If you try anything funny,” she said under her breath.

“You’ll what?” he breathed back as he walked over to Cora and the two of them took an extra few steps to put the distance between them.

Erica breathed out slowly, her heart thudding in quick repetitions as she walked over to stand by Jackson.

“So uh, I thought your text said S.O.S. crazy sister, not crazy-ass family reunion,” he hissed.

“That’s because it was only the crazy sister before he showed up out of nowhere,” she said.

“I thought he was in Iowa.”

“He sent a postcard from Iowa but he probably bought it from some dollar store in Seattle,” Erica said. “Hell, maybe he never left, he’s been watching us the whole time like some creeper.”

“Yeah right he was probably in a cave somewhere plotting some kind of evil plan,” Jackson said.

“Where would he have got postcards in a cave?”

“What?”

“You know he’s more of a city person anyway, you saw his apartment,” she said.

“True,” he said, lowering his voice to barely a breath. “Does he know Derek isn’t here?”

“I don’t know, I tried not to say much before but as much of an asshole that he is, he’s never been an idiot.”

They watched as the two of them spoke in hushed tones that even they couldn’t pick up and Erica shook her head.

“I don’t like it,” she said.

*

Stiles lay staring up at the ceiling with Derek by his side, fingers caressing the side of his head and running through his hair. Neither of them had said anything in a while and Derek was content just lying with his eyes closed as Stiles’ heartbeat sounded to a steady rhythm.

“I spoke to Kyle,” Stiles said after a few moments of silence and Derek opened his eyes. “In the hospital I uh, I spoke to him.”

“He found you?” Derek asked and Stiles turned his head to look at him.

“I’m starting to wonder if anyone around here is normal, human even,” he said.

“What did he say?”

“Told me he was an… shit what did he call it? Addonexus I think,” he said. “You heard of them?”

Derek’s brow furrowed as he thought a moment, “I don’t think so.”

“I’m not sure what he’s doing I mean he just kind of disappeared, more than once too,” he said. “I think he’s more powerful than he wants to let on, he was pretty blasé about it all back in that building.”

“Do you trust him?”

Stiles sighed.

“You should have seen my hand Derek,” he said. “I would have been scarred forever, it was… I’m sure there was a lot more that he fixed too. Going off that, going off the last few months of being his roommate then… yeah, I trust him.”

Derek’s hand ran down over Stiles’ chest, fingers gently caressing his stomach back and forth and making Stiles sigh.

“Going off everything I’ve learnt these last few years about supernatural creatures… I’m less inclined to trust him,” he said. “Kind of at a crossroads here.”

“What does your gut tell you?”

“That I’m hungry, starving actually,” he said and Derek laughed, nuzzling against him and kissing the corner of his mouth.

“You’re an idiot,” he whispered. “What do you want, anything.”

Stiles smiled and turned his head to catch Derek’s mouth with his.

“I should get blown up more often,” he said and Derek pushed him back.

“ _Don’t_ even think about it,” he said. “And don’t think about _that_ either.”

“Oh come on,” Stiles said.

“You are going to hurt in the morning, I won’t contribute to that,” he said.

Stiles was already leaving kisses along Derek’s jaw, heavy breath and gentle groans already slipping out as his hands trailed down his side.

The sound of Derek’s phone buzzing from his jeans that lay on the floor made him push Stiles back again and this time Stiles just looked up at him with a shake of his head.

“Saved by the bell,” he said and Derek narrowed his eyes at him as he got up to find his phone. “Over by the desk.”

Derek shook his head and raised an eyebrow as Stiles watched him intently. As Derek pulled the phone out and looked at the message he let out a loud groan and ran a hand through his hair.

“What?” Stiles asked as Derek looked over with a dark look.

“Erica sent me a message,” he said.

“Cora?”

“Peter.”

“ _What_?”

“He must have been waiting for me to leave,” he said.

“I thought the last postcard you got was from Wisconsin?”

“That means nothing with him,” he said.

“Can you maybe just… deal with it in the morning?” Stiles said. “I think maybe Erica needs to feel like you trust her and Peter’s… I mean he’s a pain in the ass but he’s not as psychotic and murderous as he used to be.”

Derek looked over at him slowly and shook his head.

“Just trying to help,” he said.

“ _You_ just want me to get back into bed,” he said.

“Well yeah, but I’m pretty happy with the view from here,” he said with a smile. “Call her, tell her what she needs to hear because she can totally take it. She can handle Peter.”

Derek sighed, walking into the bathroom to call Erica.

Stiles smiled and lay back, letting out a sigh as the exhaustion started to set in.

Scott and Isaac however had more than enough energy.

Scott’s back slammed against the wall as his hair stuck to his sweaty forehead, one hand locked in Isaac’s short curls and the other clawing at his back as he thrust up into him.

“I don’t think… _oh_ … I don’t think this is what Derek meant when he said… _behave_ …” Scott said, his lips in Isaac’s ear.

Isaac grunted and quickened his pace a little.

“Not the time to be talking about Derek,” Isaac said. “I mean anything else will do just… not Derek.”

“You want me to go through the paper I have due?” Scott moaned with a breathy chuckle tacked on the end.

“I love it when you talk science to me,” Isaac said and Scott laughed harder, letting his head fall back against the wall.

“I’m not that smart,” he said before Isaac’s hips were harder against his ass and he was biting down on his lip.

“You don’t have to be,” Isaac said and Scott gave a sharp tug on his hair that made Isaac still in his movements.

“You’re not supposed to say that,” he said.

Isaac gave him a smug grin.

“You make up for it in other ways,” he said, leaning in for a slow kiss, pulling out and slowly urging himself back inside him.

Scott tightened around him, making Isaac’s toes curl.

“Like that,” he breathed.

“Shut up,” he said and pulled Isaac’s hair to make him kiss him, all tongues and teeth and noses pressing against one another.

Isaac’s hips started to lose their rhythm and Scott tightened around him again, making him come undone a whole lot faster than he intended, burying himself inside him.

His lips parted and the groan barely came out as he lifted himself up on his toes and Scott just smiled.

“Not fair,” Isaac breathed.

Scott tapped him on the shoulder and Isaac nodded, waiting a few moments before slowly sliding Scott down the wall and pulling away before he was stepping back and falling onto the freshly made bed.

“Sorry,” he said with a breathy laugh and Scott just shook his head.

“No control,” he said as he lowered himself over him, pushing his arms up over his head and staring down at him.

“I have control,” he said. “Just not when it comes to you.”

“Shut up,” Scott said as Isaac reached between them with a smirk.

“Okay,” he said, shoving Scott over and onto his back before pulling him back and getting onto his knees at the end of the bed.

“You know we didn’t come here for a vacation,” Scott said, making no move to escape Isaac’s wandering hands.

“So I’ll feel bad in the morning then,” he said before going silent as he attended to more urgent matters.

“ _Liar_ ,” Scott said.

*

Erica seethed as she watched the two of them making conversation. She tried to hear anything, even the slightest hint of what they were talking about but they weren’t stupid, they grew up with wolves and knew exactly how to speak without being overheard.

Jackson tried to keep a calm exterior but Erica could smell the nervous energy on him. He wasn’t scared as much as cautious.

“So Stiles is okay then?” Jackson asked, cutting through the silence.

“Yeah, I think so,” she muttered. “I mean you can never be totally sure when you’re here and not there.”

“Why are you so bitter?” he mumbled in return and she looked over at him in frustration.

“I don’t know Jackson, why are you so uptight?” she snapped. “Didn’t get enough in Europe?”

“Jesus what the hell is your problem?”

She grunted angrily, staring at him with her nostrils flaring.

“Really?”

“No not really you moron,” he snapped back. “It’s just amusing to watch your face turn three shades of pissed off. I _know_ what your problem is. _You_ don’t like being left alone.”

“Oh like you’re any different, you can't be alone for more than an hour before you get antsy,” she said, folding her arms and turning away.

“Not true.”

“Oh really then why’d you come running out here so quickly?” she said. “It’s not like we’re that close.”

“We’re pack,” Jackson said and Erica turned to look at him with a hint of guilt written in her features. “If you ask me for help then I’ll give it to you.”

They stared at one another in silence for a moment before she sighed.

“I’m going to message Derek.”

She flicked off a text and neither her nor Jackson said anything much. They watched as Peter put his hand on Cora’s arm and she looked at it like she might tear it off.

“I suppose that’s a good sign,” Jackson mumbled.

It wasn’t long after that Erica’s phone was buzzing and Derek’s name was flashing on the screen.

“Hey,” she said quietly.

“What happened?”

She sighed and launched into a quiet spiel about how Peter had shown up unannounced, not failing to mention the part where they were both having a virtually silent conversation together.

“He didn’t say a whole lot about anything really, just that he heard Cora was back and had to see it for himself,” she said. “Not that I believe a word that comes out of his mouth. It’s not like it could be a coincidence that he’s here now. I knew he was playing some bullshit game with his postcards.”

“Are you okay?” he asked and she paused for a moment.

“Why?” she asked.

“What do you mean _why_?” he said. “Can you handle this?”

“I… well I have Jackson with me,” she said. “Is that what you’re ―”

“I said can _you_ handle this?”

“… For now I think,” she said. “I mean, yeah. I think so.”

“Good, if you need anything then call me,” he said. “I… you know what you’re doing.”

“I do?”

“ _Erica_.”

“Okay, alright, where is the sudden confidence in me coming from?” she said.

“I can't have confidence in you until you do,” he said. “So handle it. I trust you.”

She didn’t say anything for a while but she was immediately aware of Jackson’s eyes on her and she didn’t quite feel like turning to look at him just yet.

“So Stiles is ―”

“He’s fine, probably bruised but otherwise fine,” Derek said.

“Better after tonight right?” she said with a suggestive lilt to her voice and Derek didn’t say anything back before he hung up on her, though she could almost hear his eye roll through the phone.

She turned back to see Jackson giving her a look.

“What?”

“Do you always have to go there?”

“Every god-damn time,” she said.

They turned their attentions back to Peter and Cora and Erica was folding her arms over her chest again with a shake of her head.

“I still don’t like it.”

They watched them converse a while longer before Peter reached out to stroke her face with his fingers before turning to Erica and Jackson with a smirk and a gentle wave and turning to walk the other way.

Cora put her hands in her pockets and walked back over to them.

“Well?” Erica said.

“Well what?” Cora said with a shrug.

“Don’t give me that,” Erica said and Cora made a move to walk past her. “Hey!”

Erica grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her.

“Yes?” she said.

“I asked you a question and you’re acting like a bratty little teenager,” Erica said.

“You said ‘well’ which is barely a question,” Cora retorted. “Don’t treat me like a child if you don’t want me to answer like one.”

Erica let her arm go, shoving her back and scoffing.

“Do you even give a shit? About any of us?” she asked. “Do you even want us to trust you?”

Cora let out a sharp sigh, the first sign Erica had seen yet of frustration. She looked over at Jackson who just stared back as if he was interested in the answer to the question.

“You think I don’t want to trust you?” Erica said. “You think that makes things easier? It doesn’t. I get it, you’re Derek’s sister and you’re not going anywhere but you could at least try giving us something or even just answering a question without making more of them.”

“He asked a lot of questions,” Cora said quickly, “Some I answered, some I didn’t. He asked me why I came back and I asked him why he murdered my sister. He asked me where I’ve been, who I saw, when I decided it was time to leave them. I asked him how he knew I was back.”

Erica sighed and looked down at her feet while Jackson slipped her a side look.

“He also wanted me to ask you when Lydia was coming back,” Cora said with a look to Jackson who began radiating rage almost the moment she said her name.

“Son of a bitch,” he growled.

“Jackson,” Erica said quietly, putting a hand to his chest as he made a move in Peter’s direction.

“Either way it’s not really any of your business,” she said. “I won't do anything to hurt Derek. I came back here for him so why risk it?”

“Like I’ve said, long lost relatives of Derek aren’t exactly trustworthy,” Erica said.

“Then what difference does it make if I tell you what we talked about? You’ve already made up your mind about me,” she said, turning on her heel and breaking into a run.

Jackson took a step back, somewhat calmer than a few moments earlier.

“She has a point,” he said with a shrug.

Erica sighed because she didn’t want to admit he was right.

“Just… shut up and give me a lift back to the loft.”

He nodded and the two of them began walking back to his car, the likelihood of finding Cora now a whole lot smaller anyway.

*

“Tell me you were nice?” Stiles said as Derek walked back into the room.

“I was nice,” Derek said.

“Now this would be a perfect moment for me to have werewolf lie detector skills,” he said and Derek raised an eyebrow. “Not saying I want them, just saying that they would come in handy.”

Stiles chuckled to himself and winced a little, reaching up to put his hand against his ribs. Derek took quick strides over to the bed and climbed in beside him, opening his arms to let him snuggle in beside him.

“Guess that hurt a little more than I thought,” he said.

“Go to sleep,” Derek whispered, pulling him in and closing his eyes as he breathed him in. “You need it.”

“I’m fine,” he said. “I’m not as fragile as you think I am.”

Derek smiled, kissing the top of his head.

“We’re all fragile Stiles,” he said.

Stiles tried to think of something witty to come back with but the warmth of Derek’s arms and the weight of the day hit him harder than he expected. Within a few moments of closing his eyes, cheek pressed against Derek’s chest, he was asleep.

By the time he woke up in the morning he was feeling the full extent of his injuries.

Before he had even shifted in the sheets he could feel the ache in his body holding him down. Derek wasn’t in bed beside him but he could hear the shower running.

Stiles pushed himself up, crying out with the burn in his shoulders and the creaking of his joints. He looked down at his chest and let out a startled yelp at the purple lines and blotches marring his skin.

“Oh my god,” he said, breathing heavily and trying to calm himself when he realised how much that hurt.

The shower shut off pretty quickly and in a short moment Derek was walking into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Stiles said with a wince as he sat himself up.

“No you’re not,” Derek said.

“I am one hundred percent fine, just a little bruised,” he said.

“You think I can't see them?” Derek said, walking over to him and taking his hand, some of the pain easing the moment he touched his skin.

“Derek you don’t have to ―”

Stiles tried to pull away but Derek’s grip tightened.

“Derek,” he said.

“Stiles,” he said mockingly back.

“You can’t protect me from everything,” he said softly.

“I can’t heal you either,” he said. “But I can do this.”

“Not jealous are you?” he said with a smile.

“Of what?” Derek said but Stiles’ smile only got wider.

“You know what,” he said. “Kyle healed my hand, could probably heal my bruises too.”

“ _Could_ have,” Derek said. “Doesn’t look like he did a very good job of it the first time though.”

“You’re so jealous.”

Derek shook his head and sat down beside him, leaning in for a kiss.

“Why would I be jealous of him when you’re here, in my bed?”

“Because you’re hopelessly protective of me and don’t like me spending too much time with anyone,” Stiles said against his lips.

Derek kissed him again before pulling back with a shake of his head.

“You know, the more you open your mouth the more I think you do things just to get me to react,” he said.

“You’re so controlled, I like seeing you lose it sometimes,” he said and Derek gave him a look. “What? You’re hot when you’re jealous, or angry, or frustrated. I mean you’re hot all the time, like now, just sitting on the bed in a towel or when you’re reading or when you’re trying to read and eat your cereal, well actually that one’s more adorable than hot ―”

“Stiles,” Derek said with a smile.

“I’m just saying,” he grinned.

“Well, stop. Come on, I’ll help you get up, have a shower. You slept for a long time, it’s nearly lunch.”

He took his hands off him and Stiles felt the heavy ache creep back into his muscles.

“Why’d you stop?” he groaned.

Derek smiled and got up, scooping Stiles off the bed in one smooth motion and Stiles sighed as the pain started slipping away again.

He hummed in quiet appreciated and rested his head against Derek’s shoulder as he carried him to the bathroom.

*

Erica had work in the morning, the breakfast rush seemed to take longer than usual, not that she wasn’t happy for the lengthy distraction.

She had thought a lot about what Cora had said and it irritated her that she had made a lot of sense. Every time she tried to find an argument about why she shouldn’t trust her it all came back to the fact that she had already chosen not to trust her based on Peter’s bad decisions.

Sure, she was somewhat hostile and cagey, she never seemed to say a word of anything real and had no real story about who or where she came from other than a few choice words about South America and ‘a Hale in Beacon Hills’ but Erica knew that she wouldn’t exactly be giving away everything about herself to total strangers, especially when the strangers are just as hostile and cagey.

“You okay?” Raj asked, breaking her train of thought.

“Yeah, just thinking,” she said.

He nodded.

“Anything I can help with?” he offered.

“No, I think I have to fix this one myself,” she said. “Just uh, a little too proud to admit that maybe I was a little too harsh on someone.”

“I can’t imagine you being too harsh on anyone,” he said and she gave him a smile.

“You don’t know me that well,” she said, wondering if the words had sounded too crass coming out of her mouth.

“I’m trying,” he said with a nervous laugh and she could smell the anxiety on him.

She reached out slowly to run her fingers over his wrist and into the palm of his hand, making the anxiety in the air a whole lot thicker. She looked up at him from under her thick eyelashes and saw his cheeks flush as he struggled to keep eye contact.

“Relax,” she said. “I’m kind of closed off but I don’t bite.”

His cheeks flushed even darker at that but he squeezed her hand back all the same.

“You’re not closed off,” he said.

She nodded.

“I am, but I guess I can't be forever,” she said, taking her hand out of his and reaching into her apron. “Do you mind if I send a quick text, something I have to do.”

“Sure,” he said. “I should, I mean I probably… customers,” he said nervously before heading back out to the counter.

Erica sighed as she typed out her message, shoving the phone back into her apron before she started putting together one of the orders that came through.

It was just over an hour later that Cora came walking through the doors of the little café, Jackson and Danny not far behind her. She walked over to the counter, catching Erica’s eye and the two of them seemed to sigh, sizing one another up to gauge how the other would react.

Jackson nudged Danny to sit in one of the booths off to the side, giving Erica a short nod.

“So,” Cora said. “Nice apron.”

Erica rolled her eyes.

“Don’t make me regret asking you down here before I’ve even said two words.”

Cora put up her hands in surrender.

“And technically I asked Jackson to get you to come here,” she said.

“So what was so important that it couldn’t wait until later?” she asked and Erica sighed again.

“I wanted… I wanted to say that… you… were right,” she said, hoping that Cora wouldn’t get that smug look on her face before she finished or she would never get the words out. Thankfully she just looked back at her, expression mostly unchanged. “I wasn’t really fair to you and… I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?”

“Yes, okay? You were right, I had made up my mind about you and it wasn’t fair of me. I don’t know you and I’m wary of people who just show up out of nowhere because everyone has an agenda,” she said. “And maybe it didn’t help that you didn’t really want to tell us anything about yourself but I guess, I wouldn’t want to tell my life story to a bunch of strangers either.

“I suppose what I’m trying to say is that I’ll try, for Derek’s sake,” she said. “Not saying I like you, or that you aren’t irritating, or even that I trust you… but I’m willing to make an effort if you are.”

She held out her hand and Cora just looked down at it.

“I’m trying to make a peace offering here,” she said. “You’re just being rude if you don’t accept.”

Cora smiled and shook her hand. Erica sighed in relief.

“Good, now let’s not talk about that again,” she said. “You want something? On me, you know, just this one time.”

“Sure.”

Jackson shook his head from over at the table and Danny raised an eyebrow at him.

“What’s your problem?” he asked.

“Chicks are weird,” he said and Danny chuckled.

“I wouldn’t really know,” he said.

“True,” Jackson said with a shrug. “Must be so much easier for you.”

Danny shook his head, still chuckling lightly.

“Not really dude,” he said. “For one, I’ve probably been cheated on at least twice as much as you have, for another, guys _always_ forget to answer their phones or call back.”

“You’re being real stereotypical there Danny,” Jackson smirked. “Besides I thought gay guys were supposed to be―”

“Supposed to be what, huh?” he said with a smile. “Relationships are just as frustrating for us as they are for you.”

“That’s because people suck,” Jackson grumbled. “Erica, get us a couple of coffees would you?”

He didn’t raise his voice at all but by the filthy look Erica was giving him from across the room he knew that she heard him.

“Get your rich-kid ass up here and order one yourself,” she said through gritted teeth. “And don’t skimp on the tip you jackass.”

Jackson chuckled and Danny just looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What did she say?” he asked.

“Just being a bitch like usual,” he said with a grin and she looked around a moment before holding up the finger when she thought no one was looking.

“Werewolves,” he said with a shake of his head.

*

Once Stiles had been on his feet for a while he felt a little better, still in pain but at least he could stand it.

They headed down to a restaurant not far from the hotel for lunch and the sheriff was visibly enraged that someone could do something like bomb a university.

He asked a lot of questions, mainly wanting to know whether they thought the supernatural was involved, whether Stiles could have been the reason for the attack, questions that they were all thinking.

What hurt more than the bruises was the look on the sheriff’s face when he saw them. It was like all he wanted was to make him feel better even though he knew he couldn’t.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Stiles said. “Really, it’ll be sore for a few days and then I’ll be fine. Seriously, everyone needs to stop worrying so much about me.”

“One day you’ll understand how much a father worries about his son,” the sheriff said with a quick look up at Derek. “Well, you know, maybe.”

There was a moment of awkward silence where they all seemed to look away, except Isaac who seemed to be amused by the whole thing and just tried to hide the smile on his face.

“Either way,” Scott said, breaking the silence. “I have no idea how we’d even start to figure out who was behind this.”

They discussed a few possibilities, from possible allies of Cassie and Cal’s to the idea that Kyle could have had a hand in it, even throwing around the idea that this was actually a political attack like the news channels suggested. Strangely enough that seemed to be the most far-fetched option of them all.

Stiles hadn’t realised how tired he was until they were walking back to the hotel, the full impact of everything hitting him all at once.

Derek helped him back to the hotel room and let him sleep while he went down to the bar with the sheriff for a drink. Isaac made a joke about how weird it was that he could already drink with his son’s boyfriend, earning blank stares from the both of them and an elbow in the ribs from Scott.

By the time Stiles woke up Derek was in bed beside him with a book he’d picked up in the hotel gift shop which he immediately put on the bedside table so he could wrap his arms around him.

“How long was I out?” he asked groggily, wincing as his quick move to scoot down resulted in a harsh bump to his chest.

“All afternoon,” Derek said with a kiss to his forehead.

“You should have woken me,” he said with no intention to get up.

“I was… bonding with your father,” he said and Stiles chuckled.

“You were buying him the good scotch and letting him talk your ear off about those old cases you mean.”

“He also told me about how you and Scott used to play alien invasion in the backyard and that you once pushed him out of a treehouse,” he said with an amused smile.

“Okay, once, _once_ that happened and I never actually pushed him, he fell,” he said. “Don’t get my dad liquored up. He can’t keep quiet.”

“I think that’s your guilty conscience talking.”

Stiles sighed, reaching out to slip his fingers between Derek’s.

“That seems like such a long time ago,” he said. “Like one minute Scott’s falling out of treehouses and losing his inhaler every other day and the next he’s…”

“Making friends who don’t push him out of treehouses?” Derek teased.

“He _fell_ , and if he could have stuck to that story my dad might not have taken the damn thing down.”

Derek kissed his head again and Stiles felt his chest bouncing as he laughed.

“Seriously though, everything is so different now,” he said. “I mean… never mind.”

“What?” Derek hummed.

“Just… thinking really,” he said.

“Stiles, _what_?”

“What would have happened if… if Kate never set that fire?” he felt Derek tense up a little beside him. “Sorry, I’m just thinking out loud.”

There was a moment of quiet before Stiles felt Derek relax again.

“Keep talking,” he said. “It’s okay.”

“I just… I mean think about it,” he said. “You and Laura never would have left, Peter might actually have been kind of human, Scott wouldn’t have been bitten… you would never have become alpha, Isaac and Erica, Boyd, _Jackson_ , none of them would have been turned… you and me would never have…”

“You don’t know that,” Derek said.

“Everything would be different,” he said. “What if you’d had a normal life, you know, werewolf thing aside. You would have gone to college or gone travelling, and don’t try and make me feel better, we probably never would have met so even the trigger thing wouldn’t matter.”

“Stiles, you don’t know―”

“No I know, I’m just saying everything would be different,” he said. “You’d be different, maybe I would be too.”

“Well, it happened,” Derek said.

“I know, I’m just saying,” he sighed. “What if?”

“What if,” Derek murmured back.


	16. Chapter Fifteen: What If?

**_Chapter Fifteen:_ ** _What If?_

It felt like a long time since Derek had been back home, in all reality it had only been a few months. Not that it stopped his sisters from planning a party for his homecoming, even if it was just because it was the best excuse they could find.

He smiled as he thought about how much he’d missed them, looking out the window as he made his way onto the road that led into town.

NOW ENTERING BEACON HILLS

*

It had been a horrible day.

Erica walked slowly down the road that she always walked down after school, scuffing her feet and trying not to sob as the tears welled in the corners of her eyes.

She’d woken up feeling like it would be a better day than yesterday, but every time she tried to convince herself of that something always happened to make her feel worse.

Today it was Marcus Bryant, one of the basketball kids who seemed to think that because he could dunk a basket he was invincible. Not that anyone really was.

He sat behind her in history class and thought it would be hilarious to wait for her to slide into her seat before slipping a juice pouch under her. By the time she realised, the juice had soaked into her jeans and was making splashing sounds on the floor all the while Marcus was telling the rest of the class that ‘Erica just pissed herself again’.

The teacher didn’t help, how could she? The damage was already done and she didn’t know that they’d set her up.

She ushered her out of her chair while the rest of the kids laughed, spare a few looks of pity from about the place.

It didn’t sound like much, but it was just one more moment of ceaseless harassment that she was sick of, more than that, she was sick of being helpless and a target for guys like Marcus.

She let the tears fall with a messy sob and shook her head, looking up and across the road and had a thought as she read the words on the sign.

BEACON HILLS PRESERVE: NO ENTRY AFTER DARK

*

“I’m telling you Scott, it’s our year,” Stiles said as they walked to his jeep after having practiced their lacrosse skills on the empty field. “We’re seniors, we’re on the team―”

“We’re second string Stiles,” Scott said.

“We’re _on the team_ ,” Stiles repeated. “We are two eligible bachelors―”

“Oh yeah, the girls are lining up for our numbers,” Scott said and Stiles just stopped to give him a look and shake his head.

“I’m trying to paint a picture here, what are you doing?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Scott said, looking over at Allison as she laughed with Lydia by Jackson’s car.

“You know, pining over Allison isn’t going to get you on a date,” Stiles said and Scott rolled his eyes.

“Oh yeah and Lydia’s about this close to coming over here and asking you for a ride instead of getting in Jackson’s car,” he said quickly.

Stiles stared at him a moment before grunting and continuing the walk to the jeep.

“So it’s not our year,” he said. “Eventually it will be.”

“So you’re going to forget about Lydia?”

Stiles scoffed.

“You don’t just _forget_ about Lydia Martin,” he said. “What, you think I wouldn’t go out with someone who wasn’t Lydia if they were interested? That’s not it, there’s just… minimal interest.”

“She’s so beautiful,” Scott sighed.

“Alright, okay, no drool on the seat covers,” Stiles said as he unlocked the doors. “We just need to start paying attention and you know, taking advantage of the opportunities in front of us. You probably wouldn’t even notice if someone was interested in you.”

“Oh like you would,” Scott huffed back as they pulled out of the parking lot. “Hey can you drop me off at work?”

“Sure, don’t forget we have a pop quiz in Mr Harris’ class tomorrow,” he said. “Pretty sure you need to study.”

Scott punched him in the arm and they both laughed.

Stiles dropped him off at the animal clinic and then headed into town to see his dad at the station. He figured he could study there and that way he could wait for his dad to show and con him into buying him dinner.

He walked in and leaned on the front desk with a smile.

“Hey Sheila, is my dad in?”

“He just radioed in, should be back in a few,” she said. “You can go on through.”

He headed on through and set up in his dad’s office, knowing he’ll get more study done here than at home.

*

Isaac sat in the backhoe, taking a short break as the night grew colder.

He watched his breath spread out in front of him as he sighed. He used the light of his phone to look at his chemistry text book. He had a quiz tomorrow but his father hadn’t let him take the night off work.

He blew warm air into his hand to try and keep warm and sighed again, knowing that he was never going to understand titrations in one night.

He took a quick look over his shoulder as he heard footsteps in the woods behind him. He couldn’t see anything but that wasn’t unusual. He wasn’t easily scared but working in a graveyard would probably put most on edge.

There were another few footsteps and this time a thud followed.

He shut the book and shifted in his seat to squint through the darkness as his heart pumped a little faster.

“Hello?” he called out, hoping that if it was some kids playing jokes they would scram but there was no more noise. “This place is manned at night you know!”

Still nothing.

He sighed, the sick feeling in his stomach coming back as he turned on the flashlight he had on his belt and pointed it at the trees.

 _Just stay in the truck_ , he told himself.

He didn’t.

He got out, pulling his coat tighter around himself as he walked around the gravestones and shone the light at the tree line.

“Hello?” he called again.

As the light ran over the trees it caught on something between them and it made Isaac jump. He let the torch hover and he noticed that it was blonde hair.

He walked in and slowly realised that he was looking at a blonde girl lying on the floor. She didn’t seem to be moving and when he looked around he couldn’t see anyone else so he walked over to her and pushed her hair out of her face.

She seemed to be breathing and he tried to wake her.

“Hey, hey, you okay?” he said. “Come on, wake up, hey!”

He pushed her arm back and a small bottle rolled out and onto the ground.

Isaac picked it up but it was empty and the label read Eslicarbazepine Acetate.

“Oh shit,” he said, hands either side of her face. “Come on, wake up, _wake up_.”

She wasn’t moving, she was just limp in his hands and he cussed again. He grabbed his phone but he knew he had no reception. His dad wasn’t coming to pick him up for another two hours and he was well out of his depth.

He wasn’t too far from the road so he got up and ran, hoping someone would come past soon. It was usually quiet, he looked up and down and heard nothing, starting to panic a little because he still had no cell service.

It was a few minutes before lights started to appear from down the road. He waved his arms and walked out onto the bitumen hoping they’d stop, but they didn’t seem to be slowing down.

For a moment he knew what deer felt like right before they got hit, a sort of mesmerised and transfixed by the white light of the cars, like staring off into the distance and losing all notion of time.

Lucky for Isaac, the driver swerved at the last minute and went careening into the ditch on the side of the road, causing their engine to screech and drop out.

 _Great_ , Isaac thought. _First I found a dead girl and now I’ve killed someone._

He ran to the driver’s side door and looked on through the window to see the guy beating back the airbag before he was throwing the door open and climbing out.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry I thought you saw me!” he said.

“Dude, what the hell?” Stiles said as he climbed out of the jeep.

He was on his way back from the station after eating with his father and may or may not have been trying to change the radio station when he looked up to see someone standing in the road.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah, can’t say the same about my jeep though,” he said as he walked around to look at the front. “Yeah, that’s not good.”

“I’m sorry I just ― I need someone’s help, there’s this girl I… I don’t know what to do I think she might have OD’d,” Isaac said.

“What? Where? Wait, what?” Stiles said.

“Please just, help?” Isaac said, grabbing his arm to pull him with him through the trees.

Stiles followed, trying to keep up with Isaac as he took frantic steps.

“How did you even find her, what are you doing out here?” Stiles asked and Isaac turned his head to give him a quick look.

“I uh, I work out here,” he said. “There.”

He pointed to her and skidded in beside her with Stiles doing the same.

“Holy shit,” Stiles said, taking her wrist and feeling for a pulse as Isaac pushed her hair out of her face. “Holy _shit_ that’s Erica Reyes.”

Stiles felt his heart pounding as Isaac held up the empty bottle he had found by her side.

“These were next to her,” Isaac said, holding out the empty bottle.

“She’s epileptic,” Stiles said. “How long has she been here?”

“I don’t know, I heard a noise and when I came over here I found her,” he said.

“Why didn’t you call 911?”

Isaac turned to give him a look and Stiles shrugged.

“Be my guest,” he said and Stiles pulled out his phone and exclaiming a silent ‘oh’ when he couldn’t get a signal.

“So what was the plan then?” Stiles asked.

“The _plan_ was to flag someone down so we could get her to a hospital, but that’s kind of shot to hell now,” he said. “What do we do?”

“Well we can't leave her here,” he said.

“No shit Stiles.”

Stiles looked at him with a furrow in his brow and Isaac looked a little sheepish.

“I uh, I go to your school too,” he said quietly. “I’m in your chemistry class.”

This time it was Stiles’ turn to feel sheepish.

“Come on, let’s get her up,” Stiles said, reaching for her arm. “I think there’s a house not far from here we can take her, maybe they’ll have a phone we can use.”

Isaac nodded and helped him hoist her up, causing the two of them to almost go tumbling back as Stiles guessed the way.

Erica didn’t seem too responsive, every now and then she made a low groaning sound but that could have been from the clumsy carrying.

“How far away is this place?” Isaac asked.

“I’m not sure,” Stiles said. “And you know, I recognise you, from school.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Isaac said with a blush in his cheeks. “Lots of people don’t.”

“Isaac, right? Isaac Lahey?” he said and Isaac nodded.

They trudged on, Isaac was sure they passed a sign that read ‘trespassers beware but they didn’t really have much of a choice at this point. They could see lights up ahead and headed towards them, stopping only when they heard a voice from behind them.

“You know you’re on private property right?”

They both jumped and Erica slipped out of their arms as they turned, both looking down at her as she hit the ground with a thump and then up at the girl before them.

She raised an eyebrow and looked from Erica back to their stunned faces.

They began to try and explain themselves at the same time to which the girl just put her hands up to stop them.

“Alright! Okay!” she said. “You, go.”

She pointed to Stiles.

“She’s passed out, and we have no cell service, and my car is dead on the side of the road and I knew there was a house out here and we were hoping―”

“We need help,” Isaac finished, sighing a little from being out of breath and Stiles just nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” she said without another word, nudging Stiles out of the way to hoist Erica up and both Stiles and Isaac were impressed at the ease at which she lifted her.

Isaac took the other side and they helped her up to the house.

“Door’s open,” she said and Stiles scrambled to hold it open for the three of them as they pulled her inside and towards the closest couch. “Put her here.”

“You have a phone we can use then? Do you even get service out here?” Isaac said.

“It’s fine,” she said, pushing Erica’s unruly hair out of her face and pulling down her bottom lip to listen to her breathing. “She’s not dying, just passed out.”

“She’s epileptic,” Stiles said, handing her the bottle.

“Yeah, and she’s not dying,” the girl said, taking the bottle. “She take all of these?”

“We don’t know, which is why we were going to call a hospital or something,” Stiles said.

“My sister’s a nurse, she’ll be home soon,” she said.

“No offence but wouldn’t a hospital be―” Isaac started.

“Trust me, but the time they could get an ambulance to her my sister will have been home in enough time to tell you exactly what I did, she’s not dying,” she said.

“But―”

“Do you see many roads around this place?” she said and they both shook their heads. “It’s an emergency services nightmare. God forbid we ever actually need any. I’m Cora.”

She held out her hand, first for Stiles and then for Isaac who both introduced themselves cautiously. Cora said she was going to get a blanket and some water before she left the room, leaving Isaac and Stiles to whisper between them.

“I still think we should call someone,” Isaac said.

“I don’t know, she seemed pretty sure,” Stiles said. “But yeah, you’re probably―”

“You know I wouldn’t intentionally keep her from doctors, right?” Cora said from the living room entrance and they both spun quickly to look at her.

“We, we weren’t―”

“You were, but it’s okay,” she said. “Here, cover her with this.”

She handed the blanket to Stiles who threw it over her and looked down with a sigh.

“You think she did this to herself?” Cora asked.

“I heard some people talking about her today,” Isaac said. “They um, they played a cruel joke on her.”

“Teenagers _are_ cruel,” she said.

“I know, they locked me in the girl’s locker room last week,” Isaac said. “I missed my economics quiz and coach yelled at me when I finally made it back in.”

“I once broke Bobby Wordeski’s arm,” Cora said with a shrug and they both looked over at her. “He was being a jerk and I twisted it the wrong way. Either way, there’s a reason I’m home-schooled.”

“Because you’re freakishly strong?” Stiles said before he could stop himself and Cora gave him an amused little smile.

“Because I can't just walk away,” she said. “Are you guys’ hungry? Did you want some water or?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Isaac said and Stiles also nodded right before the front door swung open.

“What the hell is going on in here?”

They spun around to see a woman not much older than Cora and strikingly similar standing with her arms folded and looking from one teenager to the next.

“This is Laura, my sister,” Cora said as they both gave awkward waves in her direction.

*

Scott stroked the dog on the table as Deaton finished off its injections. It gave a little whine and whimper but Scott held her still and ran his fingers through her fur to keep her as calm as possible.

“You’re good at that,” Deaton said and Scott gave him a smile.

“I just hate when they struggle and make that sound,” he said. “At least this way, maybe they don’t feel so scared.”

“You have a lot of compassion,” he said. “Which is exactly what one needs in this line of work.”

He finished up and stepped away from the table, packing up his instruments and disposing of the unsterile equipment.

Scott gave the dog another scratch behind the ear before putting her in the cage on the floor.

“I think her owner is here if you’d like to tell him we’re just about done,” Deaton said. “Then I think that’s all we have left for tonight.”

“Okay,” Scott said, heading out into the main foyer to see the guy sitting in one of the chairs and looking like he was falling asleep.

Scott cleared his throat a little and the guy startled awake, getting up with a quick jolt.

“Sorry,” he said, walking up to lean on the counter.

“All good,” Scott said. “Vernon, right?”

He made a face.

“Boyd,” he said. “I prefer Boyd.”

“Okay, cool, well everything’s all good, up to date and everything,” he said. “Just need you to sign a few things and then I’ll go grab her.”

Boyd gave him a smile as Scott headed back out the back and towards the cage, which was now empty of the dog that had just been there.

“Oh sh―” Scott said, looking around the room before dropping to his knees. “Brandy!”

As he crawled a few more steps hissing the dog’s name Deaton came back in and looked down at him with a strange look.

“You uh, you didn’t leave the back door open did you?” he said from the floor and Deaton just tilted his head to the side with wide eyes. “She may have… got out.”

“Uh…” they heard from the front as Boyd stepped into view. “Did you… lose my dog?”

Scott scrambled to his feet.

“She probably just got out the back, can't have gone too far,” he said. “I’ll find her.”

“I’ll come with you,” Boyd said and headed out the front way as Scott got to his feet.

“I swear I thought I shut the cage,” he said and Deaton gave him a smile.

“As long as you find her,” he said. “Take your things, I can finish the rest of it up.”

“Thanks, sorry, again!” Scott said as he grabbed his jacket and bag and made his way to the door.

*

Isaac and Stiles stood in the doorway to the living room while Cora and her sister argued by the couch.

“They practically turned up on the doorstep,” Cora said. “Should I have made them walk back to the road and wait for someone else to drive by?”

“You should have called someone,” she said. “Someone who can help her.”

“She’s not dying,” Cora repeated.

“I know that,” Laura said. “But it’s not your call, she’s a kid, she probably has parents. You can’t just keep her here.”

“She needs to rest!”

“She _needs_ to go to a doctor,” she said. “She’s…”

She trailed off and looked over at the boys before grabbing Cora’s arm and pulling her into a hushed whisper.

“What do you think?” Stiles asked Isaac quietly.

“I think my dad’s going to kill me if he goes to pick me up and has to wait,” he said, biting down on his lip.

“Dude relax, just tell him what happened I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Stiles said but Isaac looked like he was on the verge of being sick.

“You don’t know my dad,” he said.

Cora turned back to them with a curious look at Isaac and Laura shook her head.

“You know what mom would say,” she said and Cora huffed out with a roll of her eyes.

“Same thing as you probably,” she muttered.

Erica murmured from the couch as she stirred and both Isaac and Stiles took a few steps into the room as Cora dropped down onto her knees beside her.

“Erica?” Stiles said as she blinked herself awake and looked up at the group of them drowsily.

She looked up in confusion as they all looked down at her.

“How’d I get here?” she said in barely a breath and Stiles and Isaac seemed to exhale in unison.

“Thank god,” Stiles said.

“My name’s Cora, you’re at my house,” she said slowly. “These two found you in the woods and brought you here. Do you remember how you got there?”

Erica’s lip trembled and she turned her head to look away.

“I’m thirsty,” she said slowly and Cora grabbed the glass she had brought in before and handed it to her.

“Uh, do you mind if I use your bathroom?” Stiles said to Laura who just sighed, realising that her little sister had got her way again, like always.

“Upstairs and to the right,” she said and Stiles headed off in that direction.

“You’re a nurse right?” Isaac asked her quietly.

“Yeah,” she said.

“You think she’s going to be alright?”

Laura looked over at the way she was staring across the room and avoiding Cora’s eyes before turning back to Isaac.

“Not sure I’m that kind of nurse,” she said.

“Here I was thinking the party was Saturday,” Derek said as he stood in the doorway with a smile.

Laura sent one back his way and walked over to embrace him.

“Derek,” she said. “Glad you’re back.”

“What’s going on?” he said, looking from Isaac who stood awkwardly in the living room to Erica who still sat stoically on the couch.

“Long story,” Laura said.

“Well let me put my stuff away and maybe you can start to explain it,” he said, taking another look at Isaac. “Who’s he?”

Isaac seemed to flush red all over.

“I was just leaving, you know I have, work…” he said as he shuffled his feet.

“Sit down, I’ll get you something to eat and then you can go,” Laura said.

He nodded and took a seat, looking over at Erica with worry written all over his face.

Cora got to her feet and all but ran to Derek, burying her face in his chest.

“I missed you,” she said and Derek kissed the top of her head. “And you have to take my side on this one.”

“There’s always a catch with you,” he said.

“And you know you’re going to take her side because everyone always does,” Laura said quietly so that the other two couldn’t hear.

“You know that I can help her,” Cora said.

“I know a hospital can help her,” Laura said.

“Oh like our hospitals give a crap about mental health,” she said, arms still wrapped around Derek. “They’ll just shove some more drugs down her throat and send her on her way.”

“You can't just kidnap people even if you think you can help them.”

“You can smell it, she’s lonely and… dark,” Cora said. “She needs people, not doctors.”

“Okay, can I just put my bags back upstairs before we get into this?” he said. “Sounds like a weird night.”

They let him go and he could still hear them bickering as he headed towards the stairs. It was only once he’s got out of the entry that the other smell in the house hit him.

It wasn’t like anything he’d smelled before, he could feel it making his body react before he could even figure out where it was coming from. It was like it engulfed all his senses and surrounded him until all he could feel was his heart beating and the wolf within him clawing at his insides.

His skin tingled. His body was almost throbbing with a kind of desire he had only felt once or twice before and he grit his teeth as he saw him walk out of the bathroom and stop with a start.

“Holy―” Stiles said, jumping at the sight of someone else in the hallway. “Uh, hi?”

Even the sound of his voice seemed to make the feeling worse, he had to swallow the growl that threatened to slip from his lips as he took a few more steps forward.

“Who are you?” he said in a far more sinister snarl than he had intended and he heard his heart beat quicken.

“Um, I was just… using the bathroom,” he said. “I’m―”

Derek struggled to control his breathing, walking quickly past him to his old bedroom and all but slamming the door shut behind him, throwing open the window to try and let the scent out and focus on anything else but it was too late. It was already engraved in his mind and he just couldn’t be in the same house with it.

He climbed out of the window and jumped from the roof to the dirt floor beneath the window, walking as fast as he could in any other direction.

As Stiles walked down the stairs he looked over at Laura who was handing Isaac a soda.

“We’re not like, interrupting a family thing are we?” he said. “I mean like we can go.”

“What are you talking about?” Laura asked.

“I think it was your brother, he looked pretty pissed to see me,” he said. “Which is, you know, weird because I don’t think we’ve ever actually met.”

Laura looked a little confused but Cora piped up as she walked back into the room with a cup of hot chocolate.

“He’s probably confused, wondering if things have changed so much since he’s been gone,” she said as she walked back over to Erica.

“Plus he’s got a tour of his new workplace tomorrow,” Laura said. “It’s probably nerves.”

Cora held out the mug to Erica with a soft expression on her face.

“Drink,” she said quietly. “It’ll make you feel better.”

Erica took it, staring down into the slowly spinning liquid before looking back up at Cora.

“I don’t want to _feel_ better,” she said softly. “I want to _be_ better.”

As a tear rolled down her cheek Cora put her hand over Erica’s arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Drink it anyway,” she said. “Please?”

Erica didn’t say anything else but she did take a sip.

Stiles took the chance to call his father, telling him that he’d swerved to miss a deer and needed him to come pick him up because the jeep was stranded. He might have told Isaac to tell his dad what happened, but the sheriff liked to ask lots of questions that he just didn’t feel like answering.

He knew it would take him at least twenty minutes to get out there and after all it was a school night, despite everything he would still have to face the chemistry test in the morning.

He still wasn’t sure about leaving Erica when his gut told him that she probably needed more help than they could give, but something told him that this wasn’t all that it seemed either.

“Are you sure she’s okay here?” Isaac said. “I mean, we could still call for an ambulance.”

“I don’t need an ambulance,” Erica said and they all turned to look at her. “I don’t need a doctor, I don’t― I don’t.”

“I just… I mean I hope you’re okay,” he said.

“You should come to the party on Saturday,” Cora said. “All of you.”

She looked back to Erica who looked as though she’d just asked her something completely crazy.

“Bring friends if you want,” she said. “It’s going to be pretty big.”

Laura gave her a look.

“You said you’d tone it down,” she said.

“I did!” Cora said. “I only invited most of Derek’s Facebook friends. Mom doesn’t have to know.”

“You think she’ll get back here and won't know how many people were here?” Laura said. “And Derek doesn’t talk to that many people on his friends list.”

“I know, which is why I invited most of yours too. Plus the bigger the party the more intimate it feels,” she said. “You know, no one really notices if you don’t talk to them.”

“I um, I’m not really a party person,” Isaac said, nervous energy radiating off him.

“Still, come if you guys want,” Cora said, turning back to Erica with a smile.

“You guys want me to walk you back out there?” Laura asked. “It’s getting pretty late.”

“We can probably find our way,” Stiles said. “Thanks though, you know, for all this. I guess it’s kind of a weird night all round.”

“No kidding,” Laura said. “Are you sure? I know the woods around here pretty well.”

“We’re good,” he said. “Is she… uh…”

“We’ll get her home, tonight,” Laura said. “You have my word.”

Stiles nodded and tilted his head towards the door and Isaac followed him. They heard the door shut behind them and exchanged a look.

“You think she means it?” Stiles asked.

“We could call the cops if you’re worried,” Isaac said as he took quick steps.

“I think it’ll be okay,” Stiles said. “What are you scared of the dark or something? Slow down!”

“I work in a cemetery, the dark isn’t exactly creepy anymore,” he said.

“You ever see anything… weird?” Stiles asked as he quickened his pace to keep up with him.

“Sometimes,” he said. “I try not to think about it too much.”

They were closer than Stiles thought they were and soon enough they started passing small grave sites.

“Well that’s not terrifying at all,” he said as they passed a headstone in terrible shape.

“There are a few like that, people who did bad things and weren’t allowed to be buried on consecrated ground,” Isaac said. “Oh _shit_!”

He ducked behind a tree and looked out to see his father looking in and around the machinery.

“Oh _shit_!” he said again.

“You want me to come out there with you? I can tell really good bullshit stories,” Stiles asked.

Isaac shook his head.

“Won’t matter.”

“Dude, what’s the worst that could happen?” he asked and Isaac just sighed.

“Can you get back to the road okay?” Isaac asked.

“You okay?” Stiles asked.

“Fine,” he said quickly. “Thanks for helping and… sorry about your car.”

“All good man,” he said. “See you round.”

Stiles let Isaac walk out towards his dad and heard something being yelled as he did, but he had to get back to the road to wait for his dad. By the time he got there he was already waiting.

“Where the _hell_ have you been?” he said as Stiles crossed the road to meet him.

“I just― I got tired of waiting,” Stiles said.

The sheriff gave him a light whack over the head and opened the passenger door to his car.

“Get in.”

“What about the jeep?”

The sheriff pushed him in as if he was a criminal.

“I’ll call for a tow in the morning, send it to the mechanic,” he said as he shut the door and made his way to the driver’s side.

“How am I going to get to school?”

“Even if I called for a tow now you still wouldn’t be taking it to school,” he said. “Now start talking, what the hell are you doing walking through the woods at this time? You don’t know what’s out there.”

“Relax dad, I might have the whole red riding hood thing going on but there aren’t any wolves in California.”

*

Derek kept walking through the woods and back in the direction of the town, he was finally starting to reel himself back in.

He hadn’t felt the pull of a trigger in years, and he’d never been so close to one even when he’d been around them in the past. He made a habit of keeping as far away from them as possible.

His phone started ringing in his pocket and he leant against a tree as he fished it out, staring over at the lights from the edge of town.

“Where the hell did you go?” Laura said before he even had a chance to say hello.

“Sorry I just… I had to get to fresh air,” he said.

“We live in the middle of the woods, how much more fresh air do you need?”

“Who was that in our house?” he asked. “Why were they even there?”

“Long story, I told you,” she said.

“One of them, he was a trigger,” he said and he heard Laura’s quiet ‘oh’ through the phone. “It just kind of blind sighted me and I had to get out.”

“Crap,” she said. “I guess that’s a fair enough reason to bail. They’re gone now so you can get your butt back here and take this girl home.”

“You really think that’s the best idea?” Cora chimed in.

“We are not holding a teenager hostage in this house,” Laura said. “That’s not going to help.”

“Maybe not but you know what will,” she said.

Derek tilted his head as he tried to figure out what she meant by that.

“Cora…” Laura said cautiously.

“You heard her, she wants to _be_ better and we all know that we can do that for her,” she said.

“Cora!” Laura hissed, dragging her into the kitchen. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s dangerous, it doesn’t always work. Derek, back me up here?”

“That is not fair,” Cora said. “This isn’t Paige.”

Derek sighed and looked down at his feet, as usual when his sisters argued he was the third party, the judge, the tiebreaker.

“ _Cora_!” Laura said again.

“Well she’s not! She’s sick and she wants to be better and you know that what we have can make her better!”

“You can't just decide what people need or want, you don’t even know this girl,” Laura said. “What would mom say?”

“Does she look like she deserves to be miserable for the rest of her life?”

“High school is going to be the worst for her,” Laura said. “Teenagers are vicious and nasty, adults won’t be.”

“And teenagers have a higher survival rate,” Cora said. “Derek? Please help me out here?”

“Don’t let her talk you into this,” Laura said. “You know better than anyone what can happen.”

“ _Now_ who’s being insensitive?” Cora said.

“I think,” Derek said, breaking up their bickering. “I think that you hate seeing people suffer, people in pain. I think that’s it’s amazing that you want to help someone you’ve never even met before today. I also _know_ that there’s a group of hunters back in Beacon Hills and the last thing any of us need right now is to give them a reason to target us.”

“That is such a mom answer,” Cora said. “ _Please_ Derek, you know this could help her.”

“I know Cora, but we can't put everyone else in danger because of our own feelings.”

“That’s rich coming from someone who used to date a hunter,” she said.

“Once,” Derek said through gritted teeth. “When I was a stupid teenager. And she left before anything could go wrong.”

“We know you want to help,” Laura said softly. “But this isn’t the way to do it.”

Cora sighed in the background and Derek heard her footsteps walking away.

“Just get back here soon so you can get this girl home,” Laura said.

“You know she’s doing it because she’s lonely,” Derek said quietly.

“She can’t keep her cool,” Laura said. “If she could keep a secret maybe she could have had a normal school life.”

Derek could hear people shouting in the trees around him and sighed again.

“I’ll be back soon,” he said before hanging up the phone.

 _“Brandy!”_ he heard through the trees. _“She can't be too far.”_

He shoved the phone back into his pocket and walked towards the voices, even that conversation couldn’t distract him from the smell that still lingered in his mind. Maybe this could.

*

“Brandy!” Boyd called as he and Scott scoured the edge of the woods looking for the dog.

“Seriously dude, I’m so sorry,” Scott said as he could his head and scolded himself.

He should have checked that the cage was closed.

“She has a habit of escaping,” Boyd said. “Don’t beat yourself up too much.”

“I should have checked,” Scott said again.

“I thought it was going to grow out of the whole runaway phase,” he said. “Just seems to have gotten worse. I remember one time Alicia left the gate open, Brandy was gone for two days before we figured out that the old lady down the road had picked her up and taken her in.”

He chuckled a little and Scott looked over at him for a moment. Boyd looked back with a shrug.

“My sister,” he said. “She’s dead.”

“I’m sorry,” Scott said.

“Yeah,” Boyd said. “Me too.”

“Are you lost?” Derek said and the two of them spun around so fast he was surprised one of them didn’t fall over.

“His dog,” Scott said, heart beating wildly. “She got out.”

Derek sighed and looked from one to the other.

“Wait here,” he said.

As he turned and jogged off into the trees Scott and Boyd exchanged a look.

“You know him?” Boyd asked.

“I thought you must have,” Scott said.

“I don’t really know anybody,” Boyd said, sitting down on one of the fallen logs. “If I did I wouldn’t be sitting alone at lunch every day.”

Scott wanted to say something in return but he couldn’t think of anything that made him feel less guilty.

It was less than five minutes later that Derek came walking back towards them, dog under his arm and crooning as he scratched it behind the ear.

“Brandy,” Boyd said as he got up with a smile.

“How did you find her?” Scott asked as Derek handed her over.

“Luck,” Derek said.

“Thank you,” Boyd said.

“Don’t mention it,” he said, turning to head back home.

“Wait, who are you?” Scott called.

“Name’s Derek,” he said before he was gone.

*

Laura stood in the doorway as she watched, arms folded as Derek walked back up towards the house.

“Kill anything?” she asked.

“No,” he said.

“ _Please_ don’t tell me you went and found the boy,” she said.

He stopped before he passed her and gave her a look.

“I found a dog,” he said, taking another few steps inside.

“You ― wait, what?”

“Never mind.”

“Well, get your shit together,” she said. “You need to take the girl home.”

“You don’t have a car?” he said.

“Faulty alternator,” she said. “Don’t get it back until tomorrow, and you’re not taking Cora with you.”

“Welcome home,” he muttered to himself.

Erica didn’t argue when Derek walked over and offered to drive her home. He held out his hand and she took it with a gentle nod.

Cora handed over her phone number and told her to call if she needed anything though she looked more confused at the gesture than anything else.

She sat in the back seat and gave Derek the address, staring out the window for most of the drive. She didn’t say a word until they were only a few streets from her house.

“There were only about three pills left in the bottle,” she said quietly.

Derek looked at her in the mirror but she was just tracing her fingers over the door handle.

“Sometimes I take too many, when I have a bad day,” she said. “All they ever do is put me to sleep. It just gets tiring is all.”

“You need something to take your mind off it,” Derek said softly.

“I haven’t found anything that works in seventeen years,” she said. “I’m open to suggestions.”

He smiled a little.

“You should come to the party Saturday night,” he said. “I know Cora would appreciate it.”

“I don’t need pity invitations,” she said, wiping her eyes.

“Cora doesn’t have many friends,” Derek said. “Maybe you’d be doing her more of a favour than you think.”

They pulled up outside her house and she just sighed.

“Do you want me to walk with you?”

She gave him a look

“I thought I just said I don’t need pity invitations,” she said. “Especially from someone like you, makes it worse.”

“Someone like me?” he asked.

Her cheeks flushed and she just got out of the car.

“Thanks,” she said. “For the ride.”

He nodded and watched her walk to the front door and struggle a moment with the key, finally getting it open as a woman appeared in the doorway.

She seemed more annoyed at the late hour than she seemed worried about where Erica had been.

Derek’s brow furrowed, maybe Cora had a better point than he’d thought she did.

*

The sheriff had to drop Stiles off in the morning, much to his displeasure. The only thing worse than your dad dropping you off at school was when your dad dropped you off in a police car.

Scott pulled up on his bike and grinned as he saw Stiles climbing out, jogging over to him with a grin.

“What happened this time?” he asked.

“Dude, do I have a story to tell you,” he said. “I had the weirdest night ever.”

“At least you didn’t lose somebody’s dog,” Scott said.

“Don’t try and steal this moment from me, my story beats your story’s ass,” Stiles said. “Like, into the ground.”

He started to go over the events of the night before, arms flailing as he explained himself. Scott was trying to decide if he believed him or not but surely he couldn’t make something up with this much detail.

“So we were carrying her through the woods and towards that house when this girl shows up out of nowhere like―”

“Stiles?”

He spun around quickly to see Cora standing behind him.

“Kind of, _exactly_ like that,” he said. “Cora, what are you doing here?”

She stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at him, hands in her pockets and a smile on her lips.

“I came to see if Erica was here,” she said. “Have you seen her?”

“Uh, no, not yet anyway,” he said. “Why, what happened after I left?”

Scott looked between the two of them, the doubt in his mind about Stiles’ story slowly clearing up.

“Nothing really, Derek got back and took her home, I just wanted to see if she was feeling okay this morning.”

“Wait did you say Derek?” Scott asked and Cora raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, my brother,” she said.

“Kind of tallish, dark hair, uh leather jacket wearing kind of guy?”

“Sounds about right,” she said, turning back to Stiles. “If you see Erica can you tell her she can call me if she needs anything?”

Stiles nodded, giving Scott a weird look before turning back to her.

“Yeah, of course, you want me to help you find her now?”

She shrugged.

“All good, I could sniff her out if I wanted to but I figured I’d ask,” they both gave her a strange look. “It’s… just an expression.”

“Yeah, obviously,” Stiles said. “I’ll try and catch up with her at lunch, see if she’s okay.”

“Thanks,” she said.

“Oh, this is Scott,” he said and Cora gave him a smile.

“Hey,” she said. “So… I’ll see you Saturday? Both of you if you want, the more the merrier.”

“Saturday?” Scott asked.

“We’re having a party, it’s kind of an annual thing but no one really knows what it’s for any more. This year’s excuse is that Derek’s home but it’s really just an excuse to have a bit of fun while our parents are away,” she said. “You guys should come, bring your friends.”

“Yeah we’ll try and make it,” Stiles said.

“Cool, guess I’ll see you then,” she said. “Nice to meet you.”

Scott waved as she turned to walk away.

“She’s kind of weird but she’s nice, right?” Stiles said.

“Dude, I totally met her brother in the woods last night,” Scott said as they turned to walk back inside. “He kind of saved my ass from having to wander around all night looking for the dog I let escape.”

“He wasn’t weird or anything? I met him at their place and he looked like he wanted to tear my throat out or something,” Stiles said. “I mean in a totally hot non-creepy serial killer kind of way.”

“How is serial killer ever not creepy?”

“When it looks like Derek Hale!” Stiles said.

“I didn’t know you swung that way Stiles,” Scott said with a grin.

“You know me, I’m not exactly hard to please,” he said, continuing with his story as they headed inside.

Jackson leant against the side of his car and stared over at them, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

“How is it that Stilinski and _McCall_ know the Hale girl,” he said as Danny walked up beside him. “She hasn’t even been to a normal school since like grade six.”

Danny shrugged.

“Maybe they’re family friends,” he said.

“Maybe,” Jackson said quietly. “Whatever it is, there is no way that they get an invite while we’re on the out.”

“You could, I don’t know… ask nicely?” Danny said with a chuckle.

“You’re a real funny guy Danny, you know that?”

“Well how else do you expect to get in?”

“I’ll figure something out,” he said.

*

Derek sat on the couch reading his book, foot tapping impatiently.

Laura came downstairs and shoved his legs to the side so she could sit beside him, leaning on her elbow and giving him a smile.

“What?” he said gruffly.

“When did you get so grumpy?” she said.

“I’m not grumpy,” he said.

“Yes you are,” she said. “This about the whole trigger thing? You’ve had them before.”

“Never here,” he sighed. “Never so close.”

“So stay away from him,” she said. “Avoid the problem until it’s not a problem anymore.”

“Have you ever…” he started. “I mean have you ever thought about giving in?”

“Of course I have,” she said. “Never did though. I’m not exactly a fan of sleeping with someone who simultaneously makes me hot and homicidal. If it was another wolf it might be different but human’s… that could be messy.”

“It could be,” he said.

“Derek, don’t even think about it,” she said.

“Laura, you have no idea what it felt like when he was standing right―”

“Derek, I love you, but I don’t need to know the intimate details of what it felt like when you had a trigger standing in front of you,” she said. “There’s a reason mom soundproofed our bedrooms. There are _no_ secrets in this house.”

He pulled the cushion out from under his arm and whacked her with it.

“I’m not trying to talk to you about that,” he said.

“Oh please, I can smell it on you,” she said. “You want to be selfish and see if it feels any better with a trigger. You know once you open that box you can’t close it up again. If it does you will never be satisfied with anything else. You sure you want to risk that?”

“ _Laura_ ,” Derek groaned. “I can control myself.”

“Sure you can,” she grinned. “I’m going to work, probably won't see you until tomorrow, you’re coming to the party right?”

“I don’t even know why we still have those parties, all they do is draw attention to us anyway,” he said.

“Not what you said last year,” she said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “Do me a favour, keep your paws to yourself?”

“I heard you the first time.”

*

The bell rang for the start of lunch and Stiles groaned, his chemistry test nothing to celebrate. He looked over at Scott who looked even more confused than usual.

He packed up his things and wondered how he was going to explain _that_ when the results came back.

“That was probably the most brutal test Harris has ever given us,” Scott said.

“No kidding,” Stiles said, looking over to the back corner to see Isaac shoving a textbook into his bag. “Hold up.”

He walked over to him, tapping him on the arm and making him flinch as he spun around.

“Whoa, take it easy,” Stiles said. “Just wanted to see how you pulled up, last night was pretty crazy. You okay?”

Isaac looked tired, sleep deprived and he had a split in his bottom lip that Stiles was sure hadn’t been there last night.

“Yeah, um, just trying to get through this test,” he said with a weak smile. “I can't really afford to fail another one.”

“Same, my dad would kill me,” he said and Isaac avoided his eyes. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Fine Stiles,” he said. “Thanks.”

“Well come on, I need you to tell Scott that I wasn’t totally making up the whole thing,” he said, giving him a nudge.

“What?”

“Lunch dude,” he said. “Come on.”

Isaac followed Stiles and Scott to the cafeteria, he didn’t usually have anyone to sit with and he wasn’t even totally sure why Stiles was so adamant about him joining them, but he didn’t complain.

Stiles was doing most of the talking, going on and on about how Harris has it in for him when Scott noticed Boyd sitting at one of the tables and eating alone. He felt a pang and started walking in his direction.

“Hey Boyd,” he said, sliding into one of the seats.

Boyd raised an eyebrow at him and gave Isaac and Stiles similar looks as they did the same.

“What are you…”

“Eating lunch?” Scott said. “If that’s cool.”

The hint of a smile slipped onto his lips and he nodded.

“Yeah, that’s cool,” he said.

They’d only been sat down for a few minutes when Erica walked into the cafeteria. There were a few snickers from the people who had played the nasty joke on her the day before and whispers from some people that weren’t really whispers at all.

“ _I don’t even know how she shows her face_.”

“ _I would be so embarrassed!_ ”

She tried to walk past them and ignore them but she could feel their eyes on her.

Stiles watched her as she walked in and remembered what he said to Cora before the first bell.

“Erica!” he called and she just stopped, looking behind her to see if he could possibly be talking to someone else.

He waved her over and she slowly walked towards them, sitting down as if Stiles might bite if she got too close.

“Cora wanted to know how you were doing,” he said casually, knowing that the last thing she probably wanted from him was to be treated like she was wrapped in cotton wool. “She caught me out the front this morning.”

“I’m fine,” she said, looking around at the other faces at the table.

“You know Scott, Isaac and Boyd?” Stiles asked.

The whole situation just seemed to get weirder to all of them, especially when Jackson came to sit down at the table with Lydia standing by his side.

“Stilinski, McCall,” he said slowly, looking at the others with a curious gaze before turning back to the two of them.

“Uh… Whittemore?” Stiles said.

“Word on the street,” he said. “Is that the two of you have an invite to the Hale party this weekend. Now what I’m trying to understand is how two… how do I put this… _losers_ like yourselves get yourselves an invite to one of the parties of the year?”

“Why do you think we got invited?” Scott asked.

“Because I saw you with one of the sisters this morning,” he said. “So don’t bother lying.”

“We barely―” Scott started but Stiles kicked him in the foot.

“Cora’s cool,” Stiles said. “She invited all of us actually.”

Jackson looked around the table and raised an eyebrow.

“All of you?” he asked. “Really?”

Lydia let out a little cough and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Let’s just get this over with,” he said. “You’re going to get us in, okay?”

“You didn’t get invited?” Stiles asked and this time it was Scott’s turn to kick him under the table.

“Alright, let’s cut the crap Stilinski, can you get us in or not?” he asked and Lydia looked over expectantly.

Stiles thought for a moment, everyone’s eyes suddenly on him.

“It’s going to be pretty hard to squeeze in any extra invites―”

“Name your price Stilinski,” he said. “What’s it going to take?”

Stiles was going to antagonise Jackson a little more, but he felt like that was a quick road to a punch in the face.

“I want to play,” he said.

“What?”

“The game, on Sunday,” he said. “You get us a spot first string and we’ll get you in.”

“Lacrosse? You’re talking about lacrosse?” he said.

“Yeah,” he said. “If we play, all of us, you know, except Erica, then we’ll get you into the party.”

“You know coach is the one who picks the team, right?” Jackson said.

“You’re the captain,” Stiles said. “If all four of us get picked at practice this afternoon then I’ll give Cora a call and get you and Lydia, and Danny and Allison in. Erica, anything you want while we’re making demands?”

She shook her head quickly.

“No,” she said.

“I can't make the coach pick people,” he said and Lydia scoffed.

“He’ll get you a spot,” she said sweetly with a smile. “See you Saturday.”

Jackson groaned but got up, pointing a finger at Stiles.

“You better come through Stilinski.”

“A deal’s a deal,” he said and the two of them walked away.

“What the hell was that?” Scott hissed.

“That was me getting us a game on Sunday,” he said. “Cora said we could bring people.”

“She said _friends_ ,” Isaac said.

“What party?” Boyd said.

“The guy who found your dog last night,” Scott said. “His family is having a party.”

“So now we’re going to a party _and_ playing in the game,” Stiles said. “This is like, the biggest weekend of my life.”

“Who said we’re going?” Scott said.

“I want to go,” Isaac said quietly.

“Yes! See? Isaac wants to go,” Stiles said, throwing his arm over his shoulder and making him crack a smile. “Boyd?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said and Stiles pouted at him. “Uh, I guess I’m in though?”

“That’s the spirit,” he said. “Erica?”

“I… I don’t really go to parties,” she said.

“Me either, I’m usually never invited,” Stiles said. “But we’re specifically invited to this one. Come on, I’ll get my jeep back tomorrow morning, I’ll pick you up.”

She thought for a moment before a small smile crept onto her lips.

“Okay,” she said.

“Scott, you’re the odd one out here,” he said and Scott just rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, alright I’m in.”

Stiles laughed, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him with a big grin across his features.

*

“Let me get this straight,” the coach said as he leaned against his desk. “You want me to add Scott ‘Mc _Drops_ the Ball’ and Stiles ‘Still Can’t _Catch_ the Ball’ into the team for the game?”

Jackson stood in front of him with a shrug.

“And Lahey and Boyd too,” he said.

“Let me get this straight,” he said again and Jackson huffed out in annoyance.

“Look, coach, we need to mix this team up,” he said. “Get some fresh legs on the field.”

“Stilinski?” he said. “Really?”

“I’ve been training them up,” he said through gritted teeth. “Just… trust me coach.”

“Trust you,” he scoffed and walked out. “We’ll see what happens!”

Before practice Jackson gave Scott and Stiles a rousing pep talk about not being shit for one god damn training session, pointing at Isaac and Boyd on his way through too.

Maybe it was because Stiles knew that coach had the final say on the team, maybe he was just having a good day, but Stiles actually had a better session that he usually did.

It must have worked, one way or another because coach begrudgingly called their names for Sunday’s team.

Unfortunately that meant Jackson got his way, but Stiles was far too excited to let that get to him.

“Hey, dad?” he said as they sat at dinner that night. “You think the jeep will be all good by tomorrow night?”

His dad looked at him over the half empty take out containers and pointed at him with a plastic fork.

“You’re lucky I’m even letting you have the damn thing back,” he said.

“Dad, how am I supposed to predict a deer?” he said.

“Don’t blame the deer,” he said and Stiles just grunted, banging his head on the table.

“Okay, alright, I should have had better vision,” he said. “But I told some friends I’d pick them up and take them to this party.”

“What party?” the sheriff said with narrowed eyes.

“Just a party,” he said. “Geez dad, you don’t like it when I stay in you don’t like it when I go out, it’s like Jenga up there.”

“Alright, alright,” he said. “Leave your old man alone, he worries.”

“Well, I don’t know if you’re off Sunday afternoon,” he said. “I uh, I’m getting a game so I thought you might want to come down.”

“You’re playing?” he said.

“Well, yeah.”

“You mean it? You’re going to be playing? On the field?”

“Yes dad, on the field,” he said

He smiled, that kind of proud smile that Stiles always loved to see.

“I’ll just take on the night shift tomorrow,” he said. “Someone needs the cover and it even gives me time for a nap before the game.”

“And we both know how much you need your naps,” Stiles said through a mouthful of Chinese food.

“Okay wise-ass, just make sure you’re back from your party early enough to get a decent rest before the game.”

“Cross my heart,” he said.

*

Cora might not have had many friends, but it was for that exact reason that she knew how to throw a party. It was the only time she could get any real human interaction.

Emphasis on the ‘human’.

Laura complained about the whole party thing more than anyone, yet she always seemed to be the best dressed on the actual occasion.

She looked beautiful, she looked just like their mother.

She laughed with some of her friends who were already there and Cora just leant against the door frame with her arms folded and Derek came over to stand with her.

“I know she doesn’t like to hear it,” he said. “But add twenty years on her and she’s mom, all over.”

Cora chuckled.

“I was just thinking that,” she said. “You didn’t change your mind did you? About Erica?”

She said the last part very quietly, hoping that even Laura wouldn’t hear. Derek sighed and took another sip of his drink.

“You mean well,” he said. “I just don’t think we can risk it right now.”

“Derek…” she said.

“Like I said, you mean well,” he said. “But you’re rash, you make decisions too fast. Let this one sit for a while. Get to know the girl.”

“You know it would be nice of you to have _my_ back for once,” she said. “It’s always team Derek and Laura. Just once Derek.”

She turned and walked back towards the kitchen. He hated that she felt that way, but he couldn’t say that it wasn’t true most of the time.

*

Allison looked at herself in the mirror, straightening out her dress and pulling back her hair. Parties had never really been her favourite thing but Lydia had insisted.

No one says no to Lydia Martin.

“So where exactly _is_ this party?” her dad asked, standing in the doorway.

“It’s just someone from school dad,” she said. “They don’t live far. And I know the deal, home by eleven and no rebellious teenage behaviour.”

“And you’re getting there, how?”

“Jackson’s picking me up after Lydia,” she said. “Relax dad, I’ve got this.”

“I don’t doubt that,” he said. “Is that the necklace that Kate sent you?”

Her hands reached up to the pendant around her neck and she nodded.

“Would have been nice if she could have delivered it herself,” she said.

“I know you think it’s harsh, but I have my reasons for not wanting her to come here,” he said.

She couldn’t stay after he realised what she’d been planning. He was all about the code, we hunt those who hunt us, but he couldn’t condone the murder of children, even werewolf children. Especially in such a heinous way.

She would have found a way to do it even if he’d stopped her the first time. She just couldn’t be trusted to stay after that.

“I know,” she said, followed shortly by two short honks of a car’s horn. “That’s Jackson. Eleven, on the dot. Promise.”

She leant up to kiss his cheek and then she was gone, down the stairs and out the door.

She squeezed into the car beside Danny in the back seat.

“Your dad’s really cool with you going to a party in the middle of the woods?” he asked and she smiled.

“What he doesn’t know won't hurt him.”

*

Stiles pulled up in the jeep outside of Scott’s house and waved to his mother as she kissed him goodbye at the door.

“She give you a curfew too?” Stiles said as he climbed in.

“Of course she did,” he said. “You should have seen how excited she was when I said I was actually going to be on the field tomorrow.”

“Oh I bet she looked just like my dad did,” he said. “A mix if shock and pride, and probably anxiety because knowing my luck I’ll get knocked out by a stray ball or something.”

“It won't be a stray ball, Jackson will be aiming for your head,” Scott grinned and Stiles just cringed.

“Yeah I went a little crazy huh?”

“If we lose he’ll probably kill you,” he said.

“Well at least I will have had a pretty damn good weekend up until then,” he said. “We have to pick up Erica and Boyd on the way.”

“You’re not just doing this because you feel sorry for her, are you?” Scott asked.

“Have you ever spoken to her?” Stiles said. “Like, even once?”

“… no, I guess not.”

“She’s cool man, she likes comic books and movies and she’s actually pretty funny,” he said. “People just don’t give her a chance because all they see is, you know, the fact that she’s epileptic. Myself included. That why we sat with Boyd yesterday?”

“No!” Scott said defensively. “Maybe, to start with, but I mean no one should have to sit by themselves at lunch.”

“True,” he said. “Isaac’s making his way there himself. I think he was supposed to be working and he just told his dad he would find his own way back home. His dad gives me the creeps, you should have heard how he was yelling at Isaac the other night. I felt pretty bad for leaving.”

“You think that’s why his lip was busted yesterday?” Scott asked.

“I hope not.”

They drove past Boyd’s place and picked him up, he still seemed cautious of their friendly gestures but didn’t fight against them.

Erica seemed to be warming up more and more, she even smiled from the door as she walked to the car.

“You look nice,” Stiles said as she climbed in beside Boyd.

They drove out to the closest parking point they could find and Stiles pulled over beside another car.

“I guess we walk from here,” Stiles said.

*

There were a lot of people already filling into the house, some human, some less so. All of them were anticipating an event-filled evening.

Cora looked around the room, waiting to see a familiar face, or even anyone who seemed to be doing the same as her, searching for someone who was searching for someone else.

She looked towards the front door and smiled.

“I knew you’d make it,” she grinned.

Peter walked over to her and wrapped her in his arms.

“You know me, when would I pass up the chance to party?” he said.

“I need to talk to you,” she said in barely a breath.

“You know me _very_ well,” he whispered back, ushering her through the people and out the door. “If there’s one thing I like more than a party, it’s a secret.”

“It’s not just a secret, I need a favour.”

They kept walking through the trees, far enough away that no one would hear their conversation and Cora gave him a serious look.

“Just remember that this isn’t Derek asking,” she said. “And I’m not asking for the same reason.”

“You were too young to know why he asked,” Peter said.

“I haven’t even―”

“You have that _look_ ,” he said.

“What _look_?”

“The same look he had when he finally said it was what he wanted to do,” Peter said. “And look where that ended up.”

“ _Not_ the same thing,” she said.

“Alright, fine,” Peter said, taking her arm as they walked further into the woods. “You have five minutes to convince me.

*

It was a convenient location for a big party. Far enough out the way that no one gave a damn about noise but close enough for anyone lucky enough to get an invite to get to without too much of an issue.

Stiles’ head bobbed to the music as they walked through the door and Erica bit her lip as she looked around, shuffling her feet anxiously.

“What exactly are you supposed to do at these things?” Boyd asked and Stiles turned to him.

“What do you mean?” he said. “You’re supposed to… I don’t know, dance? Have fun?”

“You don’t sound so sure,” Scott said.

“Like I know what goes on,” Stiles said. “Come on.”

They weaved through the people until they came across a table with drinks and a few various bowls of chips and Stiles gestured to it like it was the answer to Boyd’s question.

He poured out four plastic cups and handed them around. Erica and Scott seemed to give one another unsure looks but Boyd actually cracked a smile and let Stiles tap their cups together before they each took a drink.

Scott shrugged at Erica and took a sip, looking over at the door to see Isaac walking in looking nervous and giving him a smile when he finally turned their way.

“You made it,” he said, trying not to look at his bruised lip too obviously.

“Grab a drink man,” Stiles said, pouring another cup for him.

“There’s a lot of people here,” he said.

“Not surprising,” Stiles said. “Jackson wouldn’t have made a big deal about it if it wasn’t going to be a good party.”

They talked a little about the game, even convinced Erica that she should got to watch. Stiles wasn’t sure she’d show up but she said she would. Probably just to stop him from asking.

It wasn’t long before they saw Cora walk into the room with an older man by her side, talking quietly between them. She shot them a smile and both of them started walking over.

“I guess the house wasn’t too hard to find the second time,” she said, giving them all a warm smile. “This is my uncle by the way.”

“Uncle?” Scott said, surprised because he didn’t look quite as old as he’d expect an uncle to look.

“Youthful vigour is my trademark,” he said with a cocky smile. “Peter.”

They all gave him a small wave or gesture and Cora kept her gaze on Erica. Peter leant in close and barely whispered in her ear.

“I suppose I’ll go and ask a favour,” he said. “I’ll let you know how I go.”

She nodded before he was walking away and slipping into the crowd.

“Is everyone in your family young and beautiful looking?” Stiles said and Cora laughed as she poured a drink.

“Now that you mention it, yes.”

“Uh, we invited a couple of other people if that’s okay,” Stiles said.

“That’s cool,” she said, turning back to Erica. “How are you?”

“I’m okay,” she said with a smile.

“You look amazing,” she said.

“Wow,” Scott said as he saw Allison walk into the room with Lydia.

Isaac watched the way his eyes lit up when he saw her and wondered what it would feel like to have someone look at him that way.

Jackson and Danny weren’t that far behind them.

“I might just do a lap,” Stiles said and Scott rolled his eyes with a laugh.

“Better to face him tonight then on the field,” he said.

“Tonight doesn’t mean now!” he said. “Boyd, come walk with me.”

Boyd seemed to find it amusing and followed him as he squeezed through the room of people.

“Should I ask?” Cora said.

“I don’t think I could ever really explain Stiles,” he said.

“I’m glad you guys could come, it’s nice to have some people around my age for once,” she said. “Not that Derek’s friends aren’t fun, too fun some days.”

“Not sure I know what that means,” Isaac said.

“You know I almost thought you were kidding when you said you all were coming,” Jackson said as he walked over to the table. “Turns out Stilinski isn’t totally full of crap.”

“Are you trying to get us kicked out?” Danny said as he squeezed in. “Thanks for the invite.”

“Thank her,” Isaac said and pointed towards Cora.

“You’re house is badass,” he said. “You can't be too superstitious if you live in the middle of the woods.”

“I don’t scare easy,” she said with a smile.

“Hey Allison,” Scott said as she walked over with Lydia and gave him an understated smile.

“Hey,” she said. “Scott right?”

“Scott McCall,” Lydia said, giving him a once over as if she was trying to figure something out.

“Uh… hi,” he said.

Cora pulled Erica away to talk and Lydia dragged Jackson and Allison away to dance. Danny was happy standing by the table with a drink as he talked to Scott and Isaac about the game. He had always seemed too nice to be hanging around with Jackson.

Stiles slipped back in at some point, Boyd had seen someone he knew from junior ROTC and gone to talk with them.

It was strange, the lot of them spending time together, like a random scope of events had somehow brought out their compatibility. Maybe it would last, maybe by Monday things would be back to the way they always were.

Derek tried not to single out the sound of Stiles laughing in the living room as he stood in the kitchen trying not to let the scent overwhelm him but it wasn’t working.

 _What harm could it do really?_ He thought to himself.

He knew what Laura’s answer would be and he knew she was right, it _was_ dangerous, people did lose control, but it could also feel like nothing he had ever felt before. Control he had, but curiosity was starting to win out.

He walked out of the room and looked over at him through all the rest of the people, feeling the warmth run through him as the sound of his excited voice seemed to echo and the smell of his adrenaline sending shivers through him.

Nothing had ever felt quite like standing so close to him, and he knew that it proved how right Laura was and why he shouldn’t get any closer.

Isaac excused himself from their little group to find the bathroom, heading up the stairs and out of sight. Scott thought now was as good a time as any to talk to Allison and Stiles wished him luck as he walked through the crowd to try and find her, leaving Stiles and Danny alone.

“So you come to a lot of these things?” Stiles asked and Danny chuckled.

“Sometimes, gotta keep up the image right?”

“I totally get it,” Stiles said. “You have no idea how hard I work to keep up the fidgety weirdo act.”

Danny laughed louder this time.

“I don’t know why we haven’t talked much before, you’re funny Stiles,” he said.

“Jackson isn’t really a fan,” he said.

“Jackson isn’t really a fan of anyone,” he said. “He tolerates me because I know too many of his secrets for him to get rid of me.”

“What kind of secrets?” he asked with a grin.

“Do I look like I want to die in the near future?” he said.

“Guess not,” he said.

“So… don’t take this in a weird way―”

“Oh god, what?” Stiles said.

“Nothing bad! I was just going to say that I don’t know whether you swing that way, but there is an impossibly sexy guy over there who hasn’t stopped looking at you since he walked in,” he said.

“What? Where?” Stiles said.

“Don’t make it obvious,” Danny groaned. “By the door, in the leather jacket and blue shirt.”

Stiles looked up, catching Derek’s eye as he watched him, feeling his cheeks flush as he turned back to Danny.

“That’s Derek Hale,” he hissed. “He is _not_ looking at me like that.”

“Trust me Stiles, I’ve given that look and he is _definitely_ checking you out.”

“Are you sure he’s not checking you out? I’m… skinny and weird and… awkward!” he said as he flailed his arms a little.

“Believe me, I was hoping he was checking me out too but he has not stopped looking at you,” he said.

“People don’t look at me like that.”

“ _He_ is,” Danny said. “And he’s walking over.”

Stiles’ cheeks burned hot as Derek walked through the people, never taking his eyes off him as he did. Danny seemed to be enjoying his uncomfortable squirming and just grinned until Derek was standing beside them both.

“Stiles,” he said, his voice a low rumbling sound that made Stiles swallow and his palms sweat.

“Uh, yeah, how do you―”

“Cora told me,” he said, turning to Danny a moment. “Do you mind if I borrow him from you?”

“He’s all yours,” Danny grinned, unable to hide the once over he gave him before flicking his eyebrows at Stiles whose eyes were wide as if asking for help.

Derek tipped his head to the stairs and Stiles found himself following him before he could stop himself.

“Sorry,” Derek said, eyes tracing his features in a way that made Stiles blush. “About last night, if I was… I wasn’t myself.”

“No, no!” Stiles said quickly, clearing his throat as Derek’s lips turned up in an amused smile. “I mean I was kind of loitering in the dark so probably my fault, sneaking up on you and all. Not that I was… just, sorry.”

“Don’t apologise,” he said, leaning against the balustrade at the bottom of the stairs. “It was my first day back in town, I forgot how strange it can get here.”

“Right, it’s never exactly been normal,” Stiles said. “Small town syndrome or something.”

Derek smiled, eyes catching on the way Stiles’ tongue wet his bottom lip.

“Did you want to come up?” Derek asked.

Stiles knew very little about hooking up at parties, on the list of things he knew about it was not ranked highly but he knew that this was possibly the most polite invitation to someone’s bedroom that he was ever going to get.

“Yes,” he said quickly. “I mean, yeah, that would… I’d like that.”

Derek’s smile got wider and with another flick of his head he was showing him to the bedroom at the end of the hall, opening the door to let him through and closing it behind him.

The sound from the music and the people seemed get drowned out and Stiles grinned.

“Should I ask why your bedroom is soundproofed?” he said. “Or is that, you know, a little too personal?”

“You noticed that,” Derek said as he watched him walk slowly around the room.

“Hard not to,” Stiles said.

“I just like my privacy,” Derek said.

“Do I want to know?” he asked and Derek raised an eyebrow.

“ _Do_ you?” he asked and tried to ignore the pheromones that were radiating off Stiles as he thought about it.

“I guess I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t,” he said.

Derek took a few slow steps towards him, the beating of his heart only speeding up as he did. Derek’s own heart was thudding loudly, the feeling from inside of his stomach like something was trying to get out, everything ached with a desire so familiar and yet so foreign.

He shouldn’t be doing it, he should have walked away the moment he stepped back into the house but it was too late. Stiles was looking up at him from under his long eyelashes with his pink lips parted in anticipation, the arousal rolling off him in waves and Derek wasn’t thinking enough to stop.

Stiles had his back against the wall, watching Derek as he stripped out of his leather jacket and tossed it over the back of the desk chair rather skilfully.

“Are you sure?” Derek said quietly.

Derek was still taking steps forwards and Stiles let his hands reach out until his fingertips were pressed against his taut stomach and this time it was Derek’s turn to exhale nervously. Stiles dragged his fingers up his torso, hands flat against his shirt until they were skirting across the bare skin on the sides of his neck.

Derek crowded him against the wall and put his hands either side of him, claws scraping gently against the paint.

“You’re…” Stiles said softly. “Unnaturally warm.”

“And your heart’s beating unnaturally fast,” Derek said, his voice low in his throat.

“How can you tell?”

“Your pulse,” Derek said, leaning in and brushing his stubbled cheek against Stiles jaw before his lips were pressing a kiss to his neck, the quick beating of his pulse like a hum against them.

Stiles’ mouth dropped open, tilting his head to the side and letting his hands fall to Derek’s side and pulling his body in closer.

Every sense was being overwhelmed, the taste of his skin against his mouth, the sound of his breathy moan as it barely escaped his lips, the smell that permeated the air, the feeling of his body flush against him and Derek could feel it all.

It would be so easy to lose it, to kiss him hard on the mouth, to throw him down against his bed and take him in any way he wanted, he was already so pliant and he could feel his hard body undulating with longing for him, but for a moment the room was spinning and Derek could taste blood in his mouth and it would be just as easy to turn this into something far worse.

He rolled his hips into him slowly and tried to focus on the way Stiles dug his fingers into his side and not the way his claws were digging into the wall as he fought the wolf for control of the moment.

It was a mistake, the lines were too blurred but he couldn’t take it back.

Stiles let one of his hands roam up to Derek’s neck again, fingers on his square jaw and gently urging it to turn towards his eager mouth.

“Stiles…” he said, lips barely an inch from his.

“What?” Stiles said. “I don’t bite.”

Derek’s eyes searched his for a moment.

“I do,” he said.

“I don’t care,” he said, shaking his head.

“You will.”

“I will if you stop right now, I mean it should be illegal,” Stiles said and Derek couldn’t help but smirk.

“What I want to do with you _might_ be,” he said.

“I’m literally weeks away from eighteen,” he said. “And with you being so close I’m pretty sure you can tell that I want this, like _really_ want this.”

“This would be easier if you didn’t,” Derek said as Stiles shifted his hips.

“Well, I do… so you know, might as well…” he said and Derek let out a groan as he let himself kiss him on the mouth.

His body was a live wire, everything was sparking out of control and he feared he was going in every direction at once as Stiles opened up to him. He reached down to hoist him up, pinning his back against the wall as his hands held Stiles’ thighs either side of his waist.

It wasn’t like Stiles had never been kissed before, sure he had, but never like this. Derek kissed like he had something to prove, like he was savouring every second of it and somehow saving the memory for later.

He drew Stiles’ bottom lip between his teeth and gently pulled away, only for his lips to be trailing down his jaw and sucking a deep bruise into the pale skin of his neck. Stiles couldn’t stop himself from moaning and tightening his fingers in Derek’s hair which elicited a growl from Derek before he was pulling him away from the wall and over to the bed.

In one fluid move Stiles was on his back with Derek between his legs, lips against his stomach as his hands pushed Stiles’ shirt further up his chest.

Stiles reached down and pulled it erratically over his head as Derek pulled back, kneeling on the mattress as he stripped out of his shirt.

“Wow…” Stiles said and Derek just shook his head with a grin. “Your eyes…”

As Derek kissed him again he closed his eyes, hoping they were only slightly brighter than they should be as he rolled his hips down and let out another growl at the sound of Stiles’ appreciative sighs.

The last thing he needed was to show him what he really was.

*

Isaac walked back from the bathroom and weaved through the people and the noise just taking everything in. It was a weird experience, it was weird to think that any one person could know this many people.

As he walked through the hallway he almost walked straight into a door as it opened out and nearly into him.

Two people stepped out and laughed, the guy clapped Isaac on the shoulder and the girl just put her fingers to her lips.

“Too eager dude,” he said and Isaac just gave him a look.

“For what?” Isaac asked.

“Leave him alone,” the girl laughed.

“You ever even played seven minutes in heaven?” the guy asked and Isaac just shook his head tried to take a step around him.

“Uh, no, I should―”

“Well don’t be shy, come on, join the game,” he said and Isaac shook his head again but he was being pulled over towards the small closet and just looking at the small space inside made him feel sick.

“No really, I’m fine,” Isaac said but they weren’t listening.

“Come on, get in,” the guy said as he and one of his other friends tried to shove him through the door.

“No, let me go!” Isaac said frantically but they just laughed as they pushed him on.

“It’s alright, we’ll find someone good for you,” one of them said.

“Let go!” Isaac said again.

“What are you doing?” Scott rushed over, looking up at them and then over at Isaac who looked practically terrified. “Let go of him!”

“Not your boyfriend is he?” one of them said.

“Perfect timing,” they shoved Isaac in and before Scott could protest they were slinging him in with him and closing the door behind them, leaning against it so they couldn’t get out.

Isaac got to his feet and began banging on the door, Scott just watched him a moment as his voiced cracked while he begged them to open the door.

“ _Please_ ,” he said, scratching at the frame. “Please let me out.”

“Whoa, dude, it’s okay,” Scott said and Isaac leant against the door before he slumped to the floor and his breathing came in and out in sharp wheezy breaths. “Shit, Isaac?”

“I can’t, I _can't,_ ” he said. “I can’t do it I need to get out, I can’t…”

“You’re claustrophobic?” Scott said and Isaac managed to nod. “Okay, uh, okay, just breathe.”

“ _I can't_ ,” he said.

“It’s ― it’s not that small,” Scott said. “Uh, put your hands out.”

“What?” he whimpered.

“Just trust me, put your hands out, I got you,” he said and Isaac reluctantly put his shaking hands in front of his face, eyes still squeezed tightly shut.

Scott reached out and took them in his own, trying to stop the shaking as he reassured him.

“Just…just keep your eyes closed and just try and breathe okay?” he said, pulling his hands towards him and stretching out his arms. “See? There’s more room than you think.”

Slowly Isaac seemed to get his breathing back to a steady rhythm, Scott all the while extending his arms to their full length, putting his hands on his shoulders as he sat as far back as he could.

“See?” he said again. “You’re okay.”

He watched as a tear slipped down over Isaac’s cheek and past the split in his lip that still hadn’t quite healed. As he adjusted to the dark light Isaac exhaled heavily, slowly, and finally opened his bright blue eyes to look up at him.

He opened his mouth like he was going to say something just as the door was pulled open and the light from the hallway poured.

Laura reached down with her hand and Isaac pulled his hands away from Scott.

“Come on,” she said and he took her hand as Scott got to his feet. “You’re okay?”

He nodded and she gave him a little smile before her face turned dark as she looked over at the guys who were definitely no longer laughing.

“Get out,” she said calmly.

“Come on, we were just kidding around,” one of them said.

“I don’t think I gave you an option,” she said. “What I said was ‘get out’.”

“It was just a joke.”

“Then your sense of humour sucks,” she said. “If you’re not out of my house in the next ten seconds I’ll drag you out by your balls. Go on, try me.”

She said it all without even flinching but it seemed to do the trick. They gathered themselves and disappeared from sight.

“Thanks,” Isaac mumbled before he was quickly heading for the stairs.

“Keep an eye on him,” Laura said and Scott just gave her a look. “I haven’t heard anyone that terrified in a while.”

“You heard him?” he asked.

“I wasn’t far away,” she said. “People don’t get that scared by just the thought of something, they get that way from experience.”

Scott shuddered at the thought that something could have happened to make him that afraid.

“Go, make sure he’s okay.”

“Thank you,” Scott said as he headed off after him.

*

Cora and Erica walked out to the quiet through the kitchen door, the sound of the music throbbing in the air around them.

“It’s easier to be out here sometimes,” Cora said as the door closed behind them. “I mean how weird is that? We look forward to a party only to get there and leave it.”

“I just skip the going part altogether,” Erica said with a weak smile.

“You don’t have to hold yourself back you know,” Cora said as they walked further into the trees.

“It’s easier,” she shrugged.

“There’s a way to make everything easier,” she said, watching her reaction. “You wouldn’t have to avoid things.”

“And you know the way, right?” she said.

“I just… the other night you said,” Cora said. “You said you wanted to _be_ better.”

“I know,” she said. “It’s not like it gets any easier, or at least… I mean I thought it didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Cora asked.

Erica shrugged, brushing her hair behind her ear.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I mean I guess I thought it was going to just keep getting worse and worse but… I mean I got to school yesterday and Stiles waved me over to sit with him like… like everyone else wasn’t whispering about me, and they just talked to me like I wasn’t about to start convulsing on the table.

“And you were so nice to me, even just coming here tonight,” she said. “I usually wouldn’t, I’d just stay in and hear everyone talk about it on Monday like I’d missed out on something. Even being here kind of makes me feel like I don’t really have any reason not to do the rest of the things I want to.”

“There’s a way you can feel like that all the time,” Cora said.

“I think that’s just up to me though, you know?” she said with a smile. “I was the one making myself feel worse, so I have to be the one to make myself better.”

Cora smiled, but it wasn’t what she’d been hoping to hear.

She had to get to Peter before he followed through. He told her he knew someone who could help, someone within their walls. He just had to get him to agree.

“Come on, we should get back,” Cora said.

“You go, I just want to walk a little longer,” she said.

“Just… don’t wander too far alright?” Cora said before she was turning quickly back to the house.

*

Derek pulled himself away from Stiles, trying not to enjoy the sound of his frustrated whimper as he untangled their legs and rolled onto his back.

He had his hands balled up in fists as he took steady breaths to calm himself while Stiles rolled onto his side and looked over at him.

“If you didn’t want to…” he said quietly before Derek turned to him, eyes somehow greyer than they had been.

“Wanting to… is not the problem,” he said.

“So, what is it?”

“You’re still a virgin,” he said and Stiles almost laughed. “What?”

“Seriously if that’s your biggest issue then don’t even worry, I mean I might be a virgin but it doesn’t exactly mean I’m not… you know, _prepared_ for anything,” he said and Derek couldn’t hide the smile that spread over his lips.

“ _That_ is not the issue,” he said, letting a laugh slip out that made Stiles smile before he sighed. “You deserve better for your first time.”

“When are people going to stop putting so much credence into the whole ‘deflowering’ thing?” he said and Derek screwed his face up at the word ‘deflowering’. “Seriously I mean let’s face it how many people think back to it and think ‘wow that was the best sex of my life’? Probably none, they’d probably rather just forget but we keep making it seem like this big…”

“Milestone?”

“It’s the Easter Bunny, that’s what it is,” Stiles said and Derek laughed even louder.

“It’s what?”

“Something our parents make up so we won’t know the truth, something society tells us is important so we won’t turn into players and whores,” he said. “And for some reason everyone keeps the secret even though one day it’s going to become clear that it’s a lie and it’s not real and what? We turn into whores anyway?

“We are so scared as a fucking society of sex and indecency that we would rather perpetuate this… _myth_ than admit that it’s just fun and it feels good, we have to find some imaginary meaning in everything when sometimes, sex is just sex. Two people don’t have to care about each other to do it and I would rather know that’s what it is than be fooled by someone who’s just pretending.”

Derek just stared at him, studying his flushing face as he sucked his top lip between his teeth.

“I uh, I went a little overboard, huh?” he said.

“I didn’t realise you were that eager,” Derek teased.

“My mouth just ran away from me,” he said. “Just pretend I said something stupid like ‘I’m just horny and you’re hot’ and forget everything else that just came out.”

“No, it’s okay,” he said. “I liked it, actually. Never really thought about it like that.”

“Don’t let me make you start,” Stiles said sheepishly.

“I mean it,” Derek said, leaning in to press his lips against Stiles’ mouth. “You’re not what I expected.”

“What did you expect?” Stiles breathed, rolling in a little closer so he could run his hand along Derek’s bare side.

“I don’t know,” he said and Stiles opened his eyes, taking in a slow breath.

“How do you do that?” he said and Derek’s brow furrowed. “Your eyes?”

Derek tried to pull away but Stiles pulled him back in, catching his mouth in another kiss.

“You don’t have to tell me I just… they’re amazing,” he said and Derek pulled him in so his body was pressed against him, kissing him until it took his breath away.

“We are still not doing this,” he said when he stopped long enough to take a breath.

“I know the American sex-ed system is pretty damn flawed but the internet tells me that there are other things we could do,” he said with a sudden jol in confidence and Derek grinned.

“Oh really?”

“Want me to show you?”

*

“Isaac!” Scott called as he watched Isaac make quick steps to the door before disappearing outside. “Isaac wait!”

He followed him down the steps but Isaac didn’t stop until Scott caught up to him and grabbed his arm to turn him around.

“Sorry!” Isaac said. “Sorry I just, I needed some space.”

“It’s okay just, let me walk with you?” Scott asked and Isaac sighed.

They walked in silence for a while, not really going in any direction in particular.

“So…” Scott said after a few minutes. “You want to talk about why you freaked out so bad?”

“Really, really not,” Isaac said.

“Are you sure? Did something happen?” Scott asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said.

“Is it to do with your dad?”

Isaac stopped and Scott bumped into the side of him.

“Why would you say that?”

Scott opened his mouth but no real words came out as his eyes darted to Isaac’s lip.

“I remember you having bruises and stuff before, not just the lip,” he said softly.

“You didn’t even know me before yesterday,” Isaac snapped.

“I knew who you were,” he said.

“You didn’t care! So don’t act like you do now,” he said. “It’s fine, _I’m_ fine.”

“I don’t want you to be hurt,” he said. “If he _is_ doing anything―”

“Scott, just, don’t worry about me,” Isaac said.

“Well… too late,” he said and they shared a look for a moment.

Isaac opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as a scream filled the air and echoed in the empty woods around them.

*

Lydia dragged Allison all over the party, from one corner to the other, looking for something that Allison hadn’t quite figured out yet.

She said it was for a drink and then it was someone for Allison to talk to and then it was to find Jackson.

This time though she seemed to be following her to absolutely nowhere as they left through the side door and out into the still night air.

“Lydia, where are we going?” Allison asked but it was as if she hadn’t heard her. “Lydia?”

By the time she stopped walking they were at the edge of the clearing and Lydia was looking down at a small plant growing by the base of a tree.

“Lydia?”

She turned to look at Allison who seemed to be a little freaked out.

“This doesn’t look like the bathroom.”

“What?” Lydia said, looking around and furrowing her brow. “I…”

“Can we go back inside now?” she said, “It’s a little creepy just standing out here.”

Lydia looked back down at the small purple flower, crouching to look at it more closely.

“Seriously Lydia, I know Jackson doesn’t buy you a lot of flowers but let’s just go,” she said.

“It’s wolfsbane,” she said, reaching out to touch the coloured petals.

The moment her fingers grazed the soft flower the light seemed to be sucked out of the air and a snarling apparition came hurtling towards her.

She screamed and leapt back, falling onto her side as everything around her seemed to go back to the still night it had started with.

Her mouth had fallen open and she sucked in deep breaths as Allison crouched by her side.

“Lydia!”

“Did you see that?” she breathed.

“What the hell _was_ that?” Allison hissed as she helped her to her feet.

“You saw it?”

“I saw you fall Lydia,” she said before they both heard footsteps in the woods around them. “What’s going on?”

“I have no idea,” Lydia said.

*

“Peter!” Cora hissed as she walked through the living room, trying to avoid bumping into Laura or Derek. “ _Peter_!”

“You don’t have to yell,” he said, somehow sneaking up behind her.

“You seriously have to teach me how to do that,” she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the corner.

“Old family secret,” he said.

“You know that guy you said you were going to talk to about… _you know_ ,” she said.

“Yes Cora, _I know_ ,” he mocked.

She rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm.

“Don’t be a jerk, I need you to tell him that the whole thing is off,” she said and he just gave her a wary look.

“I thought you said you were sure.”

“Well I… _thought_ I was,” she said. “Look, maybe I just jumped the gun, a little tiny bit.”

“ _Cora_ ,” he hissed.

“Look it’s fine, just tell him it was a mistake,” he said.

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean you c _an’t_?”

“I mean he just left,” he said. “You want to stop him you’ll have to go out there and catch him.”

“ _What_?”

“ _You_ asked me to do this for you,” he said. “The time frame wasn’t exactly huge.”

“ _Crap_ ,” she said. “Well you’re going to help me.”

“Why should I help now?”

“Because if Laura finds out―”

“I’m not scared of Laura.”

“If my _mother_ finds out―”

“ _Her_ , I’m scared of,” he said as they turned to head towards the door.

Boyd watched from one side of the room as Cora conversed with her uncle in hushed tones before the two were making a hasty exit.

He didn’t make a habit of following people, but he’d seen Cora go out with Erica and then when she came back she was alone and now rushing back off in that direction.

He had to at least check it out.

*

Stiles knew he had a curfew, knew his dad would absolutely kill him if he was home even a minute late.

He also knew that his dad was taking the late shift so he could take time off for the game so technically he wouldn’t know. Not like he had electronic tracking on him that he knew of.

Even with that in mind he couldn’t bring himself to tell Derek he had to leave, in fact it wasn’t even close to being on his mind as Derek’s hips rolled into his and his hot breath fanned out over his neck as he left gentle love bites on his skin.

“Tell me to stop,” Derek rasped in his ear and Stiles replied with a buck of his hips.

“Why?”

“Because we need to stop,” he said, making no move to do so.

“Okay, promise I’ll ask you to stop… in like a minute,” he groaned and Derek laughed.

“And I thought I had no control,” he said.

“You have more control than anyone I’ve ever met, I swear…” he said.

“If you knew me, you’d know better,” Derek said, biting his own lip as Stiles dug his nails in deeper.

“So help me know better… _fuck_ ,” he groaned as he felt his release come faster than he’d intended.

Derek smiled down at the way his bottom lip trembled and his eyelashes fluttered before he was rolling onto his back again and Stiles was panting quickly.

“Sorry,” he said and Derek shook his head.

“Not sure what for,” he said.

Stiles turned to look at him and his eyes were back to the piercing blue colour they had flashed not long earlier, he almost said something again but he was afraid Derek would turn away.

He’d never seen anything like them, it was almost like they couldn’t be real.

“I uh,” he said. “I guess you were just looking for… you know.”

Derek smiled, leaning in and placing a chaste kiss to his lips.

“Do you always think so much?” he asked.

“I’m usually worse, like… a lot worse,” he said.

Derek chuckled a little and then grumbled as he reached for his phone that had been buzzing almost incessantly for the last ten minutes.

He grabbed it off the floor from where it had fallen out of his pocket and let out a small ‘huh’ sound as he read the messages.

“Everything okay?” Stiles asked.

 ** _Cora:_** Need your help. NOW.

 ** _Cora:_** Derek seriously answer your phone

 ** _Cora:_** SOS

 ** _Cora:_** YOU ARE THE WORST BROTHER EVER

 ** _Cora:_** Derek I’m serious, meet me outside now, I screwed up

 ** _Cora:_** Please

“Yeah, I uh… I have to go,” he said.

He looked up at Stiles who lay on his side and nodded.

“I don’t mean to ―”

“No it’s okay,” Stiles said. “I should probably find my friends anyway, who knows what kind of trouble they’re getting themselves into.”

Derek leaned down and kissed him again, balling up his fist because he knew he had to find Cora but it was hard as hell to leave.

“Don’t think you have to rush,” he said, kissing him again before he was out the door.

Stiles sighed, getting up and stretching out. He looked around the room, smiling at the old high school basketball trophies and baseball posters on the wall.

As his eyes scanned the room he caught sight of the wall he’s been pressed up against not too much earlier, more specifically the marks on the wall.

He walked over to it, running his fingers over the scrapes in the paint and plaster, spreading them out as he tried to figure out how they got there. They were the perfect distance apart, they looked almost exactly like claw marks.

Stiles felt his heart start pounding a little faster, claw marks and bright blue eyes, the way Derek had said something about how fast his pulse was before he’d even put a hand on him.

His body ran hot.

Stiles shook his head, he had to be overthinking things. He grabbed his phone and called Scott, readjusting himself so that he was slightly less uncomfortable.

“Stiles?”

“Hey, where are you?” he said.

“Uh… In the woods,” Scott said and Stiles chuckled.

“Seriously? This I’ve got to see.”

*

Erica sucked in a quick breath as she heard the scream pierce through the quiet night.

She couldn’t quite tell where it had come from but she knew that it wasn’t a normal sound.

“Hello?” she called with a nervous squeak in her voice.

No one answered her so she started walking again, looking around and trying to keep her breathing steady as she did. The woods could be creepy, it was probably just someone from the party joking around.

She had to slow herself down to take control of her breathing, the last thing she wanted was to get a dizzy spell or have a seizure in the middle of the woods with no one nearby.

She heard footsteps coming which didn’t help and she almost screamed herself as Isaac and Scott came jogging up beside her.

“Erica!” Isaac said.

“Are you okay?” Scott asked and she nodded.

“I’m fine,” she said. “You heard it too?”

“The scream?” Scott said.

“Yeah, we heard it,” Isaac said.

“Probably just someone playing a joke,” she said with a light chuckle that was fooling no one.

“I don’t know, it sounded pretty real,” Isaac said.

Scott’s phone started ringing.

“Stiles?” he said. “Uh… in the woods… not sure you do… Stiles don’t―”

He grumbled as Stiles hung up the phone on him.

“Great, that’s the last thing we need, someone else out here,” he said.

“Did you hear that?” Erica said.

“It’s normal,” Isaac said with a shrug. “Trust me I’m out here most nights.”

“A scream isn’t normal, Isaac,” Scott said.

“Then let’s wait for Stiles and he can drive us out of here,” he said.

“I think we’ve all had enough partying for one night,” Scott agreed.

“Wait, what about Boyd?” Erica asked.

“I’ll go get him,” Isaac said.

“What, alone? Out here?” Scott said.

“Like I said I’m out here most nights, I literally work in a cemetery. The woods don’t scare me.”

“But a closet does?” Scott asked and the second it slipped out of his mouth he regretted it.

Isaac’s face fell and his brows furrowed as he shoved his hands in his pockets to head back to the house.

“Wait, Isaac…” Scott said with a sigh.

“What was that about?” Erica asked.

“Don’t worry. Just me being a total jerk,” Scott mumbled. “Let’s go.”

*

Peter stepped outside and tried to catch the scent.

“This way,” he said as he and Cora raced to the edge of the woods. “This is the last time I do _you_ a favour.”

“ _Me_?” she hissed. “You could have said no.”

He stopped and just looked at her with wide eyes and she just shook her head.

“Yeah, okay,” she said. “Would you just go and stop him? Derek’ll be here soon he just texted me. We’ll split up. It’ll be faster.”

“You don’t even know who you’re looking for.”

“I’ll be able to smell a wolf,” she said.

“Why don’t you just find the girl and keep her safe until I find _him_.”

“Fine!” she said as Peter rushed off between the trees and out of sight.

It was only a few moments before she heard a scream come from back towards the house.

“Oh god, no, no,” she muttered as she ran towards it expecting to see Erica but instead seeing two other teenagers.

She ran over to them as the brunette helped the redhead to her feet.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Allison and Lydia turned to look at her before looking back to one another.

“She fell, that’s all,” Allison said with a flicker of nerves. “She’s had a little too much to drink.”

Cora narrowed her eyes at the lie, looking down at the purple flower by their feet and back up to Lydia’s wide eyes.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked slowly.

“Getting some air,” Allison said.

“And what are you doing with that?” Cora said. “I haven’t seen that growing before.”

“Nothing, she just leant over to touch it and… fell,” Allison said.

“She ‘fell’?”

“I fell,” Lydia said but Cora could smell the fear on her skin.

“You might want to be careful, some species are poisonous,” she said, turning her head as Derek appeared from the side door. “Maybe just, stay inside yeah?”

She didn’t wait for their reply before running over to Derek and grabbing him by the arm, dragging him towards the trees.

“What the hell was that about?” Allison said.

“I have no idea.”

Derek just gave Cora a strange stare as she dragged him away.

“Where are we _going_?” he asked.

“Did you know we have wolfsbane growing at the edge of the forest?” she asked.

“Cora.”

“I asked Peter for help with that thing we were talking about but I was wrong and now we need to stop it,” she said quickly.

“ _Cora_!”

“I know, okay? Spare me the lecture for now can you please just… help me stop it!”

He didn’t really have anything to argue against, he just ran with her.

*

Stiles called Scott again once he was out in the open air but the reception had dropped out again. It seemed like every second step he was in a dead zone.

“Hey Stiles!” Isaac called as he walked towards him with Boyd not far behind him.

“Hey,” he said. “You’re not with Scott?”

“No, he’s with Erica,” he said.

“Either of you seen Cora?” Boyd asked.

“Not for a while, why?” Stiles asked.

“Because she left with Erica and then came back without her,” he said. “Then she was rushing out here with her uncle.”

“We heard a scream,” Isaac said, looking between the two of them. “It could have been her I guess.”

“Come on, let’s just find Scott and Erica,” Stiles said.

*

“Are all parties like this?” Erica asked and she walked with Scott back towards the road.

“I wouldn’t know,” he said.

“What did you mean about the closet thing?” she asked and he shook his head.

“I just said the wrong thing,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“He looked pretty upset,” she said.

“Yeah, he did.”

“So you should apologise,” she said.

“I will,” Scott said.

“Was it like… and ‘in the closet’ thing?” she asked and he just turned to give her a questioning look. “You know, like, _in_ the closet or coming out of the―”

“No!” he said. “No nothing like that just…”

He stopped when he heard something moving nearby. Erica clearly heard it too because she turned to look around.

“Stiles?” Scott said to no reply.

“Let’s keep going…” Erica said quietly.

She stepped towards him and at the sound of a quiet snarling from behind them she grabbed his arm and sucked in a breath.

“Isaac?” Scott asked again, trying not to let his nerves show as the growling got lower. “Keep walking.”

“What is that?” Erica whispered.

“I don’t…” Scott started before he could see a pair of glowing red eyes in the darkness. “Erica?”

“Yes?” she said in barely a whisper.

“ _Run_.”

She didn’t wait to get a better look at the figure she just turned and bolted.

Scott froze for a moment, out of fear, out of curiosity, he wasn’t sure.

“ _Scott_! Come on!” Erica yelled and he spun around, slipping to his knees before getting up and running after her.

“ _Go_!” he called.

Cora’s ears picked up the sound of her scared voice and put her nose to the air.

“You heard that?” she said and Derek nodded.

“This way,” he said as he broke into a run.

Erica struggled to see in the dark as she dodged the trees and the roots on the ground. All she could hear was her ragged breathing and heavy footsteps.

She turned to see if Scott was still behind her and her foot got caught in something that made her fall, hurtling to the ground with a loud grunt.

“Erica!” Scott skidded to a halt beside her and helped her up. “Go, go that way!”

She got to her feet and ran off in the direction he’d pointed her in as Scott turned around and started looking through the darkness.

He turned to run in a different direction, trying to draw whoever or whatever it was away from Erica.

“I’m here!” he yelled. “This way!”

Derek’s ears picked up and he turned to Cora.

“I thought you said she was alone out here?”

“She _was_!” she said.

“Come on,” he said.

“Scott!” Erica yelled, hearing his words but knowing that she could also hear footsteps coming up fast behind her.

Stiles looked from Isaac to Boyd, “you heard that right?”

“Don’t tell me we’re going in there?” Boyd said.

“Something’s wrong,” Isaac said before the three of them were running in the direction of Erica’s panicked scream.

“ _Hey_!” Scott yelled, hearing Erica cry out again. “Over here!”

He kept running, he wasn’t even sure what direction he was going in anymore. He felt himself getting short of breath and started fumbling in his pockets for his inhaler. As he pulled it out it slipped through his fingers and into the leaves that littered the floor, causing him to slip as he tried to catch it, rolling down a small slope and crashing into the base of a tree.

He groped around on the ground for the inhaler as he sucked in the air he could get, his fingers finally wrapping around it before he was pulling it to his mouth and breathing in as much as he could.

He braced himself on his hands and knees, sucking in air and squinting around in the darkness until he saw the figure again, hunched over and snarling as the red eyes glowed bright.

It looked like an animal, surely it was an animal but something about it was almost human.

In a flash it was lunging towards him and his put his arms up as a brace but the sting still came, the sharp pain in his side as he felt its teeth sink into him.

He waited for the rest of the pain to come but that seemed to be it as he moved his shaking arms and realised that whatever it was… it was gone.

He hissed in pain as he looked down at his side, pulling his shirt aside to see the blood from the bite.

“What the…” he said before he heard more footsteps approaching.

“Scott!” Stiles came running in and knelt by his side. “Dude what the hell? What the _hell_ happened?”

“Erica?” Scott said. “Where’s Erica?”

“I didn’t see her,” Isaac said as Boyd just looked on in shock.

“I tried… I tried to get it away from her,” he winced in pain as Stiles and Boyd helped him to his feet. “Did you see it?”

“Dude,” Boyd said as he looked down at the bite mark on Scott’s side. “What did that?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I just… I hope…”

“Scott?”

They all looked up as Erica walked towards them with glassy eyes.

“Erica! Are you okay? I tried―”

He stopped himself when she lifted her arm to show him the bloody bite mark and her bottom lip trembled.

“Come on, let’s get to the jeep and get out of here,” Stiles said.

Derek and Cora watched from a distance as the two boys helped Scott to his feet and make their way back to the car.

Cora let out a sob.

“It’s too late, it’s done,” she said.

“I thought you said it was only supposed to be the one person?” Derek said.

“What did I do?” she said and Derek pulled her into his arms.

“It’s not your fault,” he said.

“Of course it’s my fault!”

“Trust me,” he said. “This is not your fault.”

He held her for a moment in silence before she finally said something.

“We need to tell Laura, don’t we?”

Derek sighed.

“Yeah, we do.”

*

No one said a whole lot as they drove out of the woods and back into the main stretch of the town, not until they made it to the main street.

“Surely you guys should go to the hospital,” Isaac said. “I mean, you got attacked by a wild animal.”

“My mom would kill me if she knew I’d been out in the woods this late,” Scott said. “And it’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad, not that bad?” Stiles said. “You guys got _attacked_.”

“I don’t even know what it was, it looked like a―” Scott said.

“Like a what?” Stiles said.

“Like a wolf,” Erica finished, still just staring out the window.

Stiles’ mind started ticking over at that, it couldn’t have been a wolf.

“All the more reason to see a doctor…” Boyd said.

“It’s not like animal attacks are rare in Beacon Hills,” Erica said.

“That’s it, no hospitals, no doctors, you’re all coming back to my place and if this gets worse in the morning we’ll… figure something out.”

“My mom will freak if I’m not home,” Scott said.

“Well you can’t stay there alone,” Stiles said.

“I’ll go with him,” Isaac said.

“Good, and the two of you can stay at mine, my dad’s on night shift so we have time to clean you up.”

They didn’t argue, in fact they didn’t say too much more at all as Stiles dropped Scott and Isaac off.

“Here,” Isaac said, handing Scott his jacket.

“What’s that for?”

“You’re covered in blood, you can’t let your mom see,” he said.

Scott pulled it on and handed his keys to Isaac before shoving his hands in his pockets, hiding the blood that he hadn’t quite rubbed off.

As they walked inside they tried to be quiet and Scott hoped his mother was asleep but no such luck.

“Hey, how was the party― oh, hello there,” she said.

“Fine mom, this is Isaac,” he said. “I said he could stay the night.”

“You okay?” she asked.

“Fine, just tired,” he said. “See you in the morning okay?”

“Okay…” she said, giving him a suspicious look.

“It was nice to meet you,” Isaac said, smiling a moment before following Scott up the stairs.

They walked into Scott’s room and locked the door. Scott sat down on the bed and Isaac headed straight for the bathroom, grabbing a bandage out of the cabinet and soaking a hand towel in water before coming back into the room.

“Come on, we should get that cleaned up,” he said as Scott stripped out of the jacket.

“It’s fine,” Scott said, gasping as he stretched the get the shirt over his head. “Don’t worry.”

“No, you helped me back at the party when you didn’t have to, so let me help now,” he said.

“Thanks,” Scott said. “You still don’t want to tell me why―”

“I’m claustrophobic, okay? That’s it,” he said. “Now shut up and let me help here?”

Scott sighed but did as he asked, wondering how the night ended up like this.

*

It took a long while for the party to wind down, it took about the same amount of time for Derek to calm Cora down.

They hung back, waiting until they couldn’t hear anyone else in the house and made their way in, the nervous energy filling the room.

“Okay, spill,” Laura said, walking in with her arms folded. “What the hell have the two of you done?”

It didn’t take a lot for Cora to break, she spilled everything. Every detail she could think of she blurted out but Laura didn’t say anything until she was done.

“I swear, I thought I was doing the right thing, I just… no one would listen to me!” she said. “And now Peter has disappeared and I might have killed two people and I can’t fix this! What are we going to do?”

Laura sighed.

“You’re going to stop freaking out for one,” she said. “You think no one was listening? You were the one who wasn’t listening.”

“Don’t be so hard on her,” Derek said quietly and Laura looked at him with her eyebrows high.

“Don’t even get me started on you,” she said. “You think I can't smell him on you?”

“You think it’s easy to stay away from him?” Derek said.

“That is literally all you had to do,” she said.

“Well that might be easier if he wasn’t _invited into our house_ ,” he said.

“Don’t turn this around,” she said. “He’s a teenager Derek.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“What if they don’t make it?” Cora asked, cutting in over their arguing. “Not everyone survives.”

“We know Cora,” Laura said, trying not to look at Derek.

“They’re going to make it,” he said.

“You don’t know that,” she said.

“Yes, I do,” he said. “Trust me if they weren’t going to make it they wouldn’t have been able to get up and just walk away. They would have been in a lot more pain.”

“Even if they do they’re not going to be able to control it,” Laura said.

“They won't even know what’s happening to them,” Derek said.

“Which is why it’s up to us to teach them now,” Laura said and both Cora and Derek looked up in surprise. “Well do you really trust this alpha to do it? Whoever he was he was happy to bite and run, maybe he’ll be back for them and maybe not. Either way I wouldn’t trust him to teach them how to control what they are.”

“What are you saying?” Derek asked.

“I’m saying that it’s up to us to make sure they know what’s happening to them,” Laura said.

“Mom is going to freak out,” Cora said.

“Mom isn’t going to find out until we can prove to her that we’ve got this under control,” she said.

“Mom finds out everything,” Cora said.

“Well then you better get it under control quickly,” she said. “You take the girl and Derek can take the guy.”

“What? And what are you going to be doing?” he said.

“I’m going to be making sure that the two of you don’t screw this up any more than you’ve already managed to do!”

“I’m sorry,” Cora said quietly and Laura rolled her eyes, pulling her in for a hug.

“Don’t be sorry, just… be proactive, okay?” she said. “Just go to bed before I yell some more.”

“You know I’m almost eighteen, I’m not a kid anymore,” Cora said.

“So why do you need so much taking care of?” Laura asked.

Cora shook her head and headed up the stairs and Laura turned her attention to Derek.

“You’ve said your piece,” he said. “Don’t make it worse. It was a once off.”

“Oh really?” she said. “You mean you think you can control yourself? Because I’ve heard that before.”

“I hooked up with someone I didn’t just create a couple of teenage wolves,” he hissed.

“No but you better make sure this stays under wraps,” Laura said under her breath. “You know that with those hunters back in town we have to keep a low profile. This is not exactly that. Neither is you tearing apart a teenager.”

“It’s done, okay? I just needed to know,” he said.

“And now that you do you won’t be able to stop.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do,” she said. “I just want the two of you to be safe and you both just drive me crazy.”

“What are younger siblings for?” he said with a weak smile.

“Get some sleep,” she said. “You’re going to need it.”

*

It was game day, _the_ game day.

The only one Scott was likely to get.

He sat up in bed, looking down at his bare chest and the bloodied bandage that covered the bite marks he’d been gifted he night before.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and narrowly missing Isaac who slept on the floor.

“Holy―” he said, trying to avoid him as he stood up.

Isaac turned to look at him, sitting up and rubbing his eyes though he was clearly already awake.

“Dude, did you really sleep on the floor?” Scott asked.

“Yeah, well… I mean it wasn’t so bad,” he said. “How are you?”

Scott looked down at the bandage and sighed.

“I’m about to go check.”

He walked around Isaac and into the bathroom, closing the door behind him and looking at it in the mirror, pulling a face as he slowly peeled it way from his skin.

It wasn’t at all what he expected.

He burst back through the door and Isaac looked a little confused before his eyes grew wide and he was getting up to get a closer look.

“I didn’t dream it all did I?” Scott said and Isaac shook his head.

“If you did then we were having the same dream,” he said. “It’s gone!”

Neither of them could believe it, how could it have just disappeared?

When Stiles showed up to pick them up for the game he was without Boyd and Erica but he said almost exactly the same, Erica’s bite was gone too.

“I mean, gone, like, if she didn’t have blood on her clothes you never would have thought anything had happened,” he said. “She said she was coming to the game but who knows.”

“You don’t think it’s weird that it was gone?” Isaac asked.

“Oh it’s bizarre but maybe… I don’t know, I’m just too weirded out to even think of a reason right now. Right now we need to focus on this game, okay?”

“He’s right,” Scott said. “It’s not like we’re going to figure it out on the way there so let’s just… play.”

They made it to the school, Boyd questioned Scott about his bite and told them he had a weird feeling but in all honesty Scott was just happy that it was gone. Truth be told one of the things he worried about was not getting to play in the game.

He heard Jackson talking about him when they were changing in the locker rooms. He was saying things like how they were going to lose this game because they were stuck with the second stringers.

_“You really think a party was worth letting them take the field?” Jackson said._

_“The party maybe not, but the number I got from one of the guys who attended the party, now that might be worth it,” Danny said._

_“Yeah well it’ll be my ass on the line if these idiots can’t perform,” Jackson grumbled._

Scott grunted as he pulled his boots on.

“Can Jackson be any _more_ obnoxious?” he said.

“What?” Isaac asked and Stiles just stared over at him.

“Jackson, he can’t shut up for five minutes?”

“Uh, Jackson’s not even here,” Stiles said and Scott looked around to see it was just the four of them left in the rooms. “Jackson’s out on the field with Danny.”

“I swear I just heard…” he said, trailing off and clapping his hands over his ears as the coach walked in and blew the whistle.

“Everyone out, on the field, now!” he yelled. “Stilinski, don’t make me regret giving you a game.”

“What? I’m ready coach, I am _ready_ ,” he said with a grin but the coach just grumbled before walking out and yelling a brief ‘get your ass moving’.

“You okay?” Boyd asked Scott.

“Did he have to be so loud?” he said.

They made their way out and Stiles saw his dad sitting with Melissa McCall and waved over at them. He saw Erica walking over to the bleachers and she smiled at them, mouthing the words ‘good luck’.

Only she didn’t just mouth them, she said them, and Scott heard them as if she was standing right in front of them.

He ran over to her despite the coach blowing the whistle at him to join the team.

“What are you doing?” She said as he approached her.

“I heard you, how did I hear you?” he said.

“Don’t think about it now,” she said.

“It’s happening to you too, isn’t it?”

She pursed her lips and looked around.

“I feel different,” she said. “Like, like I can do anything.”

“And the bite mark…”

“It’s gone.”

“What happened to us?” he asked.

“ _McCall!_ ” the coach yelled.

“Go, win the game,” she said. “We’ll talk after?”

He nodded before running back over to the huddle.

The coach never was overly good with pep talks, but somehow they always seemed to do the trick. Jackson was far worse.

“You screw this up for me Stilinski and you’re going to wish you were dead,” he said with a less-than-affectionate slap to the helmet.

“Jerk,” he mumbled as they took their place on the bench for the start of the game.

As the first whistle blew Cora walked into the stands, seeking Erica out and taking a seat beside her.

“Hey,” she said and Erica just smiled.

“I didn’t know you were coming,” she said.

“You left pretty early last night,” Cora said. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Erica nodded.

“Yeah I… we just thought it was time to go,” she said.

“Well… how do you feel today?” she asked and Erica turned to look at her.

“You… you know what happened?” she asked.

Cora didn’t say anything, she looked down at her lap then out at the field.

“No,” Erica said. “You know what’s _happening_.”

“I tried to stop it,” she said. “It was my fault to start with but still, I tried to stop it.”

Erica stared out at the field, heart racing and biting her bottom lip.

“That thing…” she said. “It wasn’t an animal, was it?”

Scott’s ears perked up from the bench and he turned back, locking eyes with Cora as she shook her head.

“No, not really.”

“McCall!” the coach yelled again, making him jump. “Get up, get out there and don’t screw up!”

“Go!” Stiles said as Scott got to his feet and Melissa cheered from the stands.

Erica watched as he got onto the ground, the first ball that came to him landing in his control easily and the manoeuvres he made across the field looked as natural as anything. When the ball hit the net no one looked more surprised than Scott.

It had never been that easy before.

“The hearing, reflexes, that’s just the start,” Cora said. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you the choice. I just thought I was doing the right thing.”

“I felt better this morning than I ever have,” Erica said. “I don’t know what caused that only, I do know, and I can't explain it. Don’t apologise for that.”

“You don’t know what you’re in for,” Cora said.

“I’m just happy to be in,” she said with a smile.

Cora smiled back, just as Stiles took to the field, the sheriff beaming with pride.

The coach just seemed to stand there with his mouth gaping open as Stiles managed to pass the ball off to Scott without fumbling and Scott outperformed anyone on either side and scored another goal.

Jackson of course tried to take credit for it, trying to figure out how the hell Scott had become an overnight sensation.

Allison seemed to be keeping a close eye on Lydia even though she was completely downplaying what happened the night before.

By the time the game had drawn to a close Beacon Hills were up by a record margin and much to Jackson’s dismay the team was hailing Scott their hero.

He never did get to catch Erica for that chat, not when his mother refused to take no for an answer when she suggested they go out for dinner to celebrate. He knew he’d have to find her at school the next day.

He felt on top of the world, his senses were stronger than they’d ever been and the adrenaline wouldn’t stop pumping as he thought about the game and what Cora had said to Erica.

Things were changing and he knew he had to deal with them, but he would figure it all out in the morning.

*

Stiles spent the next day trying to convince Stiles of his theory, crazy as it sounded.

Somehow after the weekend they’d had it didn’t seem quite as insane as it might have done the week before.

“Seriously Scott, just, think about it overnight would you?” he said as they walked out of school that afternoon. “It’s not that crazy.”

“You’re talking about _werewolves_ Stiles,” Scott hissed. “It’s that crazy.”

“Yeah, but it makes sense,” he said.

Scott sighed.

“Don’t make me think about it.”

“Too bad, think about it. Think about how awesome it is.”

“Don’t you have to meet your dad at the station?” he said.

“You know trying to get rid of me won't change the fact that I might actually be right!” he said as he climbed into the jeep.

“Shut up Stiles!” he yelled as he walked off towards his bike.

Stiles grinned as he drove away and he couldn’t help but think about Derek.

It couldn’t be a coincidence that they were at his house when it happened, that his eyes lit up like glow sticks and that his skin was hot to the touch, that his walls had claw marks and that he could hear things that he really shouldn’t be able to.

Nothing that made sense in the real world made sense in this situation.

He made it down to the station and walked in and gave Tara a smile and she just shook her head at him.

“Causing trouble again?” she asked and Stiles put a hand over his heart.

“I’m a saint and you know it,” he said and she just laughed. “You seen my dad?”

“He’s finishing up with some paperwork,” she said. “Just go through.”

“You’re still my favourite,” he said with a grin and she rolled her eyes with a smile.

He took his phone out to text Stiles as he walked in, the office almost as familiar as his own home.

“Stiles?” he looked up at the sound of that voice and his mouth dropped before he collected himself and sucked his lips between his teeth.

“Derek?” he said, eyeing him up and down as he walked over to him in his deputy’s uniform. “I uh… I didn’t know you worked here.”

“What are _you_ doing here?” he said, looking more nervous than Stiles had seen anyone look in a while.

“I’m, my dad’s the sheriff,” he said with a bemused smile.

“Stilinski,” he said, putting the pieces together and running his hand through his hair with a groan. “Stiles Stilinski.”

“Yeah, the real name is even weirder,” he said.

“Stiles!” the sheriff called as he walked out of his office. “I see you’ve met Derek.”

“I didn’t know he worked here,” Stiles said.

“Started today,” he said, eyeing the look on Stiles’ face and the pained expression on Derek’s. “Do you two know each other?”

“We’ve met,” Derek said quickly.

“The party I went to the other night,” Stiles said. “It was uh, Derek’s sister’s party.”

“Right, sometimes I forget how small this town really is,” he said. “Give me five minutes and I’m out of here, yeah?”

He walked past him with pat on the back, leaving him standing with Derek.

“I guess this is more awkward for you than it is for me,” he said with a grin.

“You’re his son?”

“Oh come on, it’s not like you were asking who my dad was on Saturday night,” he said and Derek gave him a look which made him blush. “Wow, okay that came out worse than it was supposed to.”

Derek laughed and shook his head.

“Stop,” he said.

“Right, mouth running away from me again,” he said.

“I was supposed to be staying away from you,” he said with a look in his eye that said just the opposite.

“Yeah, well…” Stiles said with a shrug. “Don’t think that you working here makes me want you to.”

“Stiles,” Derek said quietly.

“Relax, no one can hear me,” he said, pausing a moment. “I mean how many other people have super-human abilities like that?”

Derek narrowed his eyes.

“Stiles, you coming?” his dad called.

“Yeah be right there!” he said, turning back to Derek. “Well, you know where to find me, and if you don’t… well I’m sure you can track me down.”

He gave him a smile before heading out with his dad and Derek couldn’t help but smile, Laura was right, there was no way he could stop now.

***

Derek lay in the hotel bed, fingers running through Stiles’ hair before pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Stiles looked up at him with a goofy tired smile, lifting his hand to tangle his fingers with Derek’s.

“I’m sorry,” Derek said softly and Stiles just frowned.

“What for?”

“The way we started,” he said.

“What are you talking about?”

“I was… I wasn’t thinking about you back then,” he said. “I was just thinking about myself and I know I probably hurt you. I never wanted to be that person.”

“Hey… you’ve been through things… things that make you different to the person you thought you wanted to be,” he said. “I still love you, I wouldn’t change anything.”

“I _hurt_ you Stiles,” he said. “And I didn’t care.”

“You do now,” he said, shuffling up to kiss him but Derek pulled his lips away.

“I regret it,” he said. “I regret hurting you. I regret that I knew I was doing it and that I didn’t stop early enough.”

“No, you don’t get to make me think you regret being with me,” Stiles said firmly and Derek huffed loudly.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” he said. “I just… don’t want that nature to get the better of me.”

“It hasn’t,” Stiles said. “And I wouldn’t change it. Any of it.”

“I love you,” Derek murmured.

“And I love you too you big dope,” Stiles said. “Now stop being so damn depressing and come here.”

Derek rolled his eyes but did as he was told, and without complaint.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Grounded

**_Chapter Sixteen:_ ** _Grounded_

It had been a few days since the attack at the university.

Scott and Isaac had made their way back to Beacon Hills, courtesy of Derek’s platinum card, and the Sheriff was on his way back down that afternoon. He couldn’t leave without making sure the bruising had gone down enough to convince him that Stiles was really going to be okay.

“Dad, seriously, if you worry any harder you’re going to give yourself an ulcer and we both know that your diet is already contributing to that so let’s not make it any worse,” he said as they sat at breakfast.

“All I said was that you’re not as purple as you were yesterday,” he said through a mouthful of bacon.

“Between you saying that _every_ time you see me and Scott texting me every morning _and_ night… I also have Derek trying to wrap me up in cotton wool so I don’t make anything worse!”

“No harm in caring about how you’re doing.”

“It’s driving me insane, okay? I got a little blown up, is that such a big deal?”

“Yes,” Derek said as he walked over to join them at the table.

He put his hand lightly on Stiles’ shoulder, kissing his temple as he sat down.

“Thanks, appreciate the back up,” he scoffed.

“You are the only person who could think that getting blown up is _not_ a big deal,” the sheriff said. “I’ll be back.”

“If you’re going to get more bacon maybe rethink that, your cholesterol is not going to come down at this rate,” Stiles said.

“Life is short Stiles,” he said sternly. “I’m not going to spend it eating cauliflower hash browns when I have the real thing sitting nicely over there by the bacon.”

“It’s healthier for you,” Stiles said.

“Stop sending me links to webpages for foods made out of vegetables,” he said, pointing his finger at him before heading back to the buffet.

“One day the doctor is going to tell him he can't have any of it and I’m going to be stuck trying to force-feed him sweet potato fries.”

Derek chuckled, gently sweeping his fingers through the short hair on the side of Stiles’ head.

“And you!” he said pulling away from his touch and making Derek raise an eyebrow. “I am not made of glass.”

“No but you are a broken record,” Derek said.

“Uh, pot? Kettle?” he said. “I miss when you weren’t afraid to touch me.”

“Will you stop complaining if I promise to stop being gentle with you once those bruises are gone?” he asked in a whisper, lips pressed against his ear.

“They’re pretty much gone now,” Stiles said.

“Stiles,” he said and Stiles bit down on his bottom lip, nodding quickly.

“Yeah okay, I promise,” he said. “But you let me tell you if you’re holding back.”

“Alright,” he said.

“Really?”

“Yes really, now eat your breakfast,” he kissed him messily on the cheek before he got up to grab some food himself.

Stiles watched him walk away, hard not to notice the smug grin on his lips because he knew Stiles was staring.

“Okay son, I know you love him but pick your chin up off the table would you?” the sheriff said as he sat back down.

“Really dad? That’s your third helping of bacon.”

The sheriff paused and looked up at him stoically.

“I’m on vacation.”

“You… I got _blown up_ , how is that a vacation?” he said.

The sheriff grinned and pointed at him with his knife.

“So you admit it, getting blown up _is_ a big deal.”

Stiles just groaned.

**

Allison walked through the seemingly abandoned parking lot on her way to the loft. Her jet lag had finally subsided and she was feeling back to herself.

It had been a while so she buzzed in rather than letting herself up.

The door made the familiar click so she walked through, getting in the lift and heading up. When the doors opened she was taken aback as an unfamiliar girl stood looking back at her with folded arms.

“Oh, uh, hi?” Allison said and the girl just raised her eyebrows. “Am I in the wrong loft because I swear―”

“Allison!” Erica called from the bottom of the stairs with a grin, running over to wrap her arms around her.

“Holy god, I forgot what werewolf hugs felt like,” she said breathlessly and Erica laughed, letting her go and blowing her hair off her face.

“You even smell French, new perfume?” she asked.

“I may have picked some up,” she said with a glance to the stranger beside her. “Are we ignoring her or am I going crazy?”

Erica looked over and rolled her eyes.

“ _That_ is a long story but short version is that this is Cora,” she said. “Derek’s sister and yes! Before you ask, she _did_ survive the fire and _no_ we do not talk about it.”

Cora was still giving her a cautious look that Allison was trying to decipher.

“Okay,” she said. “It’s weird to meet you.”

Cora tentatively took her hand and shook it before turning back to Erica.

“I’m going out, catch you later,” she said and walked past them both without another word.

“You’ll get used to it,” Erica said. “How was your trip? Did you find yourself?”

“I didn’t go to ‘ _find_ myself’ I went because it was a free trip to France and a chance to learn about some of my family history,” she said. “Plus the drinking age is like sixteen.”

“Nice,” Erica said. “You get drunk with your dad a lot?”

Allison rolled her eyes.

“Shut up.”

“Is it weird that I actually missed you?” Erica said as they walked further inside.

“With the new company you keep I’m not surprised,” she said, taking a seat at the kitchen bench. “Is she always so…”

“Brooding and cautious?”

“I was thinking is she always _that_ much like Derek,” she said.

“Yeah it’s not hard to see the family resemblance, you heard about Stiles, right?”

“Lydia texted me, do we know what happened yet?”

“You know I am almost ready to put it down to actual random attack, feels weird to think that maybe someone _wasn’t_ out to get us this time,” she said. “Usually when one of us is around and people die it’s got ‘we’re coming for you’ written all over it.”

Allison started to protest but just rested her chin on her hands.

“I got nothing,” she said. “How’s everyone else?”

“You mean… how’s Scott?”

“Why does everyone think that I am still preoccupied with him? I said everyone didn’t I?” she said. “You think I spent six months in France and thought about him every single second?”

“Did I hit a nerve?” Erica said with a grin. “And I take it if you weren’t thinking about him there were at least a few moments where you were thinking about someone else?”

Allison’s mouth stayed open as she thought of a comeback but just wound up closing it and shaking her head over at Erica.

“I’m not playing your games,” she said, the dimples in her cheek coming out.

“I want all the details,” she said. “And then I suppose I can tell you a few things about my life.”

“You’ve got something to tell?” Allison teased.

Erica pulled a face at her and took out her phone, doing a quick search before holding it out for her to see.

“Rajanish?” she said with a raised eyebrow.

“Go on, tell me all about your … travels.”

Allison laughed.

“Okay, but only because I want to hear about this,” she held up the phone before handing it back and Erica leaned over the counter with a grin.

**

“All I’m saying,” Scott shrugged. “Is that Wolverine could totally take on Iron Man, I mean the guy is literally immortal.”

“Yeah but you can’t really pit them against each other,” Isaac said from the couch. “Iron man is all tech and ranged attacks and Wolverine is brute strength and close combat, when would they even _have_ to fight one another?”

“You’re missing the point, all I’m saying is that he _could_ , not that he will.”

“Wait, have they battled in the comics?” Isaac asked. “Either way, wouldn’t be much of a fight. Think, Indiana Jones when that guy comes out with the swords and Indy just shoots him. That’s how I imagine that going.”

“You are such a nerd,” Scott said with a grin.

“You brought it up?” Isaac said.

They both laughed and Scott tapped his fingers against his book with a quick look over to Isaac before turning back to his page.

“So… I was thinking,” he started slowly.

“Careful I hear that’s bad for you,” Isaac said.

“Very funny, seriously though,” he said and Isaac looked up. “I was thinking of going home for dinner tonight, mom’s cooking and all.”

“Alright that’s cool,” he said.

“Uh, my dad’s going to be there,” he said and Isaac nodded. “I was thinking you could come over and meet him?”

“We’ve met, remember?”

“Uh, yeah, you said hi and then we argued and you ran off to Berkeley,” he said and Isaac’s eyebrows shot up.

“Oh I ran away? Is that what we’re calling it?”

“It doesn’t matter, you didn’t _actually_ meet him and… I think maybe, you should?”

“Is he going to interrogate me? Give me the old ‘what are your intentions with my son’ shtick?”

“I’m serious Isaac,” Scott said.

“Well so am I!” Isaac said. “You really want him back in your life?”

“He’s trying,” Scott said. “That’s more than he’s ever done before.”

“I don’t want to see you get hurt,” he said. “I don’t want you to put all the faith you have in a guy who didn’t bother to stick around for most of your life.”

“Yeah well, he’s here now,” he said. “It could be worse.”

“Yeah I know,” Isaac said, making Scott feel a little guilty at his words.

“Sorry, I know what happened with your dad must keep you kind of on edge with this stuff,” he said.

“He never abandoned me though, that was my mom,” he said. “I just don’t want you to settle in with the idea that he’s here to stay and then have him disappoint you in a week when he decides that his life is more important than his son.”

“I know,” Scott said, getting up and walking over to him. “I just… I want you to be there with me, doesn’t feel right when you’re not.”

“You know totally giving me no option but to agree, right?” he said with a smile.

“Telling me you were going to say no?” he said.

Isaac smiled and pulled him into his lap, sliding his hands up his thighs and under his shirt so he could caress his sides.

“When was the last time I said no to you?” he whispered, leaning in to kiss his neck and jaw.

“Um yeah, yesterday,” Scott said, closing his eyes and leaning into him.

“Not my fault you picked a stupid movie,” Isaac said.

“So… that’s a yes then?” Scott asked and Isaac tilted his head up to look at him.

“If you want me with you, I’m there,” he said.

“Good, because I already told my mom you’d be there,” he said with a smile.

“Why am I not surprised?”

**

“You let me know once you find out what’s going on, or if you start feeling worse,” the sheriff said as they stood at his car later that day. “If you need anything―”

“Yes dad, I know,” he said, opening the driver’s side door for him. “I will call you if I get so much as a mosquito bite.”

“Don’t be such a wise-ass,” he said, pulling him into a hug.

“I _know_ ,” he said. “Drive safe, okay?”

He pulled back and gave Stiles a smile, reaching out to give Derek a handshake which Stiles rolled his eyes at. As he climbed into the car Stiles gave him a wave. He complained a lot, but he was already missing his company, it had been nice to spend so much time with him, albeit under less than ideal circumstances.

“So, where is this meeting you have to go to?” Derek asked as his car turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

“It’s more of an assembly than a _meeting_ ,” Stiles said. “And it’s in the arts union hall, I think there’s a few of them around, just trying to get the word out to all the different faculties.”

“Do you know what the word is?” Derek asked.

“I could be so annoying right now…” Stiles said with a grin.

“If you start singing that song I promise you I am driving home tonight,” Derek said.

“Seriously though, I’m not sure,” he said.

“Well I’ll go back to the hotel, call me when it’s finished?” he said.

“I will, and you didn’t need to buy me a new phone you know, I could have got some second hand iPhone four or something,” he said.

Derek leant in and kissed him on the forehead.

“Call me when you’re done,” he said again.

As Stiles walked through the campus he got a few lingering looks, the bruises were fading but they were still obvious to anyone who knew what they were looking for. And everyone on campus was looking.

He looked over to the entrance of the hall and saw Kyle standing there waiting for him.

“You look better than the last time I saw you,” he said.

Stiles shrugged.

“Thanks,” he said. “I mean like, _thanks_.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said.

“No I mean it, I don’t know what kind of shape I’d be in,” he said.

“Really, don’t mention it,” he said as they walked inside.

“We’re going to have to sit down for a coffee after this because there are some things… I have a lot of questions,” Stiles said.

“I thought you might.”

They took a seat up towards the back and waited for the speakers to start. They held a moment of quiet reflection for the people killed, the total standing at just four, but it was still four too many.

“This is a sad day for our school, a day none of us had even considered, let alone had the chance to prepare for,” the head of school stood solemnly behind the small podium and looked out on the rest of the students.

Some seemed deep in thought, others looked as though they’d spent the better part of the week crying. Some just seemed anxious to get out.

As Stiles thought about it he suddenly felt more claustrophobic than he had done when they walked in, he could feel the sweat on his forehead and his heart started beating faster.

“The perpetrator of this act, has not yet been found,” the man continued. “No individual or group has taken responsibility for this attack on our freedom to learn and be taught and live without fear.

“Many of you have been personally affected by this tragedy, and we have at hand a great number of services who can provide support to anyone who might need it.

“In light of everything, this faculty has decided to postpone its final examinations. We will be sending out formal communication today. It is likely that dates for next semester will be brought forward to offset the earlier break but we feel as though we cannot expect the best from you under the current circumstances.”

“So what, essentially no exams?” Stiles whispered.

“They must be incorporating them in next semester,” Kyle whispered back.

Stiles had to stop himself from letting a smile reach his lips.

“I can go home…”

Kyle looked over at him, almost looking around him before putting a hand to his shoulder.

“You sound like you might need it,” he said.

“I didn’t think I cared that much really,” he said softly as they read out the names of the four people who died, their photos beaming back at him from the projector screen.

One was a professor, been teaching in the school of sociology for the last five years. Two more were students, celebrating the end of semester with a coffee in the courtyard on a sunny day. The last was a maintenance worker, he’d made it to hospital but there was too much damage, they couldn’t bring him back.

“Stiles?” Kyle said, breaking him out of his trance as the rest of the people around them started to move.

“Sorry,” he said, sniffing a little and letting out a sigh.

“Let’s go and have that talk.”

Stiles nodded, not realising how tight his chest was until they were finally out of that room.

He pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to Derek.

**_Stiles:_ ** _Just grabbing a bite with Kyle, need to get my head around a few things. Won't be long, promise_

As if he had been waiting to hear from him his phone pinged with a reply shortly after.

**_Derek_ ** _: Let me know if you need me_

They drove a little way out of campus and into a niche café on a corner street. Stiles sat at the table staring into his coffee while Kyle just eyed him carefully.

“You’re never this quiet,” he said and Stiles shrugged.

“I don’t know I guess I spent a few days away from this place and kind of… I don’t know, sometimes this kind of thing almost feels normal, what with the whole werewolf pack every other day thing,” he said. “There’s been a lot of death in the last year or so but it seems different, I mean there were reasons behind that and not saying that makes it better, it doesn’t… at all, it just…”

“What?”

“What if I was the target?” he said, looking up from his mug. “I know it seems stupid to think that I am _that important_ that someone would target _me_ , but in my experience there’s usually something supernatural involved. And yeah, I might be human, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been targeted. Four people are dead, so many people got injured…”

“You can think like that Stiles,” he said. “Take it from me, the more you put on your shoulders the more you realise you have virtually no control over anything outside yourself. Even if you were the target, you didn’t detonate those bombs.”

“I know,” he said with a sigh.

“A few years ago, I spent some time travelling,” Kyle said. “Probably could have been backpacking through Europe’s landmarks but I was actually making my way through hospitals in South America.”

“Wow,” Stiles said.

“Not really,” he said. “I’d just got good at healing and I wanted to do some good, or try to anyway. I stopped at this little village just outside the Mexican border, in Guatemala. The place was… ravaged by sickness and there was still a lot of conflict. The civil war ended nearly ten years earlier but… not everyone agreed with peace treaties.

“I stayed for a while, treating people whenever I could, I thought I could clean the place up, if I got rid of the disease then I could leave and there wouldn’t be this circle of illness after illness. At first things went well.”

“At first?” Stiles said, leaning his chin on his hands as he listened.

“They called me ‘El Curandero’,” he said. “Means ‘the Healer’. Word somehow spread and people were coming in from neighbouring villages with their sick, wounded. I started getting injuries worse than I’d ever healed before and… I wasn’t ready for them. But, being the overconfident teenager that I was I thought I could fix anything. I guess getting treated like some kind of holy healer only made it worse.”

“How old were you?” Stiles asked.

“Nineteen,” he said. “They brought me this boy, his legs had been torn up by some farming equipment. It was… he wasn’t even conscious when they brought him in. I did what I’d done every time, his legs seemed to repair in front of my eyes, like they always did. They thanked me and took him away.

“I took in more like him, people who were inches from death, bodies torn apart, suddenly there wasn’t even a scar, like it never happened. It wasn’t until weeks later that I realised… I didn’t know as much as I thought I did.

“They brought the boy back in, his feet had turned black and he was in so much pain, the way he was crying I… when I healed him I was trying to heal him as a whole, repair the damage. Problem was to repair his injuries meant cutting off the damage from the rest of his body. His muscles fused in the wrong places as his skin just masked it.

“No blood supply meant no life, septicaemia took hold pretty fast and the degree of damage was too much. He died later that afternoon.”

“But you couldn’t have known that, you were trying to help,” Stiles said.

“And I thought I was this great healer, it never even crossed my mind that something might go wrong. But that boy wasn’t the last. They started coming back, different degrees of pain and suffering that I caused and couldn’t fix. They started calling me something different.

“I wasn’t a healer anymore, I was ‘Portador de la Muerte’,” he said. “Bringer of Death.”

He sighed, looking down at his hands as if remembering the words in their mouths and the sound of it in his ears.

“The girl, in the hall,” Stiles said slowly. “You said there are some things you can't heal.”

“Some things are best left to doctors, not self-taught arrogant boys,” he said. “I’ve figured out focussed healing since then, but I try not to use it often. Gun-shy I guess you could call it.”

“So… I’m guessing you didn’t tell me that story for the entertainment value?” Stiles said with a small smile.

“Don’t put everything on your shoulders,” he said. “You can be trying to do well, or trying to be a hero and still wind up―”

“A harbinger of death?”

“Something like that,” he said.

“So… healing aside…”

“You want to know what else I can do?”

“You said something about auras?”

“How much time do you have?” he said with a smile.

“I guess now that finals are off… a hell of a lot more than I thought.”

**

Erica and Cora walked into the tree line, Erica dropping her backpack and stretching out. Reluctantly she had agreed to cooperate, letting Cora try and teach her more stealth before Derek came back and berated them all again.

She still wasn’t excited about having to work together but she had to at least make an effort.

“Remember, if you start being a bitch then I’m leaving,” Erica said with her arms folded.

“Remind me again why you even asked me to come with you?” Cora shrugged, squaring off with her and folding her arms as well.

Erica sighed.

“Because Derek… had a point about us not working together,” she said. “And you’re pretty good at sneaking around.”

“Is that a compliment?” she said with a raised eyebrow.

“Plus if you teach me now I can kick Jackson’s ass later,” she said.

“So much for working together,” Cora said with a smirk.

“Are you going to help me or not?”

“What else has got you so irritated?”

“I’m naturally irritated,” Erica said with a roll of her eyes.

Cora shrugged.

“More so today apparently,” she said.

“I _might_ be trying to work off some nervous energy,” she said. “Raj is taking me to a movie tonight.”

“Well, at least you’ll probably get a kiss this time,” she said and Erica narrowed her eyes.

“Can we start now?” she said.

“Okay, close your eyes,” she said.

“Really?”

“Do you want my help or not?”

Erica rolled her eyes again but this time she did as she asked.

“Now… walk, and listen.”

“Are you kidding?” Erica said, grumbling as she took a few steps.

“I’ll guide you just shut up and do it,” Cora said, putting her hands against her back and leading her around the trees. “What do you hear?”

“I don’t know Yoda,” Erica said sarcastically. “What am I supposed to be listening to?”

“If you _shut up_ for half a second you might figure it out,” Cora said. “And if you want me to be Yoda I can climb on your back and you can carry me instead.”

“ _You’ve_ seen Star Wars?” Erica said, turning to look at her.

“I wasn’t living in the South American jungle,” she said. “I had a TV you dipshit.”

Erica laughed loudly and the grin stuck on her face.

“Alright I’m listening to… something,” she said.

They walked on a little longer and Erica started to listen in to the sounds around them. She could hear the wind rustling in the canopy above them, the birds in the branches, and she could hear her feet crunching in the leaves and twigs under her sneakers.

“What can you hear?” Cora asked as she tapped her right shoulder so she could veer in that direction.

“I hear… my stupid feet,” she said. “How are you so quiet?”

“Shut up, focus on trying to be light-footed instead,” Cora said. “Just think about the sound of your feet on the ground and make it quieter.”

“You’re a real Jedi master,” she said.

“It’s that simple, just focus,” she said. “Watch left.”

“Let’s just run or something, I have way too much pent up energy to be walking through the woods with my eyes closed,” Erica said.

“Okay, you run ahead, try and lose me,” Cora said. “Make it to the river. See if you can step a little quieter.”

“You’re on,” Erica said with a grin.

She took off quickly, skirting around the trees and exhaling slowly as she tried to tread lightly. She was quick, skidding in the soft dirt as she turned corners.

She could hear the gentle flow of the river not too far up ahead, too bad that by the time she heard Cora’s steps she was grabbing her by the arm and pulling her down to the ground.

“Learn to zig zag,” she said, holding her hand out to help her up.

“What?” Erica said.

“You either learn to zig zag or you’ll end up like Rickon Stark,” she said.

“Seriously?” she said.

“All he had to do was change direction once or twice and maybe he would have made it. Double back, retrace your steps. It confuses people scent tracking you, gives them options and you more time.”

“Didn’t pick you as a Game of Thrones fan,” she said as she pulled her hair back and tied it.

“Are you kidding?” Cora said.

“Jon Snow right,” Erica said with a grin.

Cora scoffed.

“Sansa Stark is a badass,” she said. “Go again, make it a little difficult.”

Erica nodded, smirking a moment before kicking Cora’s feet out from under her and bolting. This time making a pattern, changing directions and going back on her tracks, but Cora still managed to catch up with her.

She grabbed her by the shirt and shoved her into the side of a tree.

“Little unfair that you had like a sixteen year head start on me with the whole werewolf thing,” Erica huffed and Cora actually let out a genuine laugh.

She leant in and Erica froze as she pressed her lips against her mouth, fingertips running along her jaw before she was pulling back with a smirk.

“You know nothing,” she said. “Keep up.”

She darted off quickly by Erica was still glued to the spot, mouth hanging open in shock.

“What the hell?” she said under her breath.

**

Stiles walked back into the hotel room later in the afternoon. Derek was doing push-ups shirtless on the floor by the bed.

“Do you ever just… watch TV like a normal person?” he said, leaning back against the door as he closed it behind him.

“When I’m with you, yes,” he said, grunting through the last of his set.

“Reading while I watch movies does not count,” he said.

Derek got up, grabbing a towel and wiping himself down with it.

“I thought you were going to call me when you were done?” he said.

“I just… needed a walk,” he said, leaning up so Derek could place a soft kiss on his mouth. “Finally had the chance to chat with Kyle, he’s got some interesting stories.”

“What you expected?”

“Not really,” he said with a shrug. “I guess I don’t really know what I expected though.”

“What did they say at the assembly?”

Stiles smiled, reaching out to grab the hem of Derek’s shirt and pull him in.

“I’m coming home.”


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Homecoming

**_Chapter Seventeen:_ ** _Homecoming_

“Cora!” Erica called as she stomped, purposefully, through the forest. “Not cute anymore! Would you come back here now?”

She had been wandering around for nearly an hour now and Cora had almost completely disappeared.

“I’m going back to the loft!” she huffed, throwing her arms up in the air. “When you’re done playing games, I’ll see you.”

She started heading back, the light slowly fading from the sky.

As she made it to the loft a scent hit her, one she hadn’t smelt in a long while. She walked into the main living area and looked around.

“Hello?” she called.

“Erica,” she grinned as she saw him walking over from the kitchen.

“Boyd!” she squealed, running up to him and launching herself into his arms. “I can’t believe you’re back! I can’t believe you didn’t _tell_ me you were on your way back!”

“I told you I was coming home soon,” he said.

“I didn’t think you meant this soon!” she said, squeezing him harder. “What the hell?”

She finally let him go and took a step back to look at him.

“What are you, growing a beard now?” she said.

He rolled his eyes a little.

“Just been on the road a few days,” he said.

“So this is it? You’re really just… back now?” she said and he nodded. “I thought you weren’t going to stop until you found her.”

He shrugged, taking a step back to sit on one of the stools by the bench.

“You can only look so long before you figure out that maybe that person isn’t lost, they just…don’t want to be found,” he said.

“Well… until you found out what happened to her then,” Erica said.

“Maybe she doesn’t want me to know that either,” he said.

“And if something terrible happened?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“I really don’t think it did,” he said.

“Well, whatever happened, I’m so glad you’re back,” she said, throwing herself into his arms again.

“Me too,” he said softly. “It’s weirdly empty around here.”

Erica rolled her eyes and pulled away.

“Believe me, it’s far from,” she said. “Which reminds me, I don’t have a lot of time, I have a date.”

“With this guy from the coffee place?” he said with a grin. “You want me to give him the older brother talk?”

“ _Please_ ,” she drawled. “If he hurts me then I’ll kick his ass myself.”

“Thought you might say that.”

“You can crash here if you like, Derek probably won’t be back until tomorrow though,” she said. “And Cora’s taken residence of the spare.”

“I almost forgot she was here,” he said.

“Yeah well, who knows where she is right now,” Erica grumbled. “She has a habit of disappearing.”

“Well, I might take you upon that offer,” he said.

“There’s pizza in the fridge,” she said before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. “Welcome home.”

*

“Feels weird you know?” Stiles said as he packed up his things from the dorm. “Like I’m leaving before anything’s even finished.”

“You’ll be back in no time,” Kyle said from his spot on the bed as he read through one of his books.

“Yeah, I’ll be back here doing finals while everyone else is in the middle of their break,” he said. “It kind of sucks.”

“It all out of respect you know,” he said. “Maybe you should have some.”

Stiles turned around and feigned a wounded look.

“Well that was overly savage, even for you,” he said.

“Yeah that one came out a little harsh,” he said. “I was just saying.”

“Yeah I know,” he sighed. “I don’t know about anyone else but I think I’d prefer to just get everything over with now rather than come back half way through and knowing exactly why. At least starting a new year… there’s nothing overly significant about that.”

“I guess so,” he said.

There was a knock at the door and Stiles grinned before striding over to open it. Derek raised an eyebrow at him before Stiles was pulling him down to kiss him.

Derek was quick to pull away, the raised eyebrow only getting more animated as he did so.

“Oh it’s just Kyle, he doesn’t care,” Stiles said.

“It’s true, I don’t,” he said without looking up.

“This one time he thought I wasn’t in the room and he and this guy were ―” he was silenced by Derek’s lips against him.

“I’ve heard that story before,” he said with a shake of his head.

“And you thought you’d… kiss me to avoid hearing it again?” Stiles said.

“It’s a very effective method of shutting you up,” Derek said quietly.

“I can think of better ways,” Stiles grinned.

“Guys… might not be a werewolf but I can still hear you,” Kyle said.

Stiles pulled himself away to throw another few things in his case.

“So you’re leaving tonight?” Kyle asked, finally putting the book down.

“Tomorrow morning,” he said. “Just going to go straight from the hotel.”

“Guess I’ll see you for finals then,” Kyle said.

“You can always visit Beacon Hills,” he said. “You’d totally love it, supernatural central.”

“Do you just think all supernaturals are drawn to other supernaturals? Some weird force of nature or something?” he said.

“The short answer is yes,” Derek said and Kyle grinned as Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Okay, I regret bringing you here,” he said as he struggled to zip up his bag.

“To be fair, it does happen,” Kyle shrugged. “Most of the time it’s to the same species but either way, not really my specialty seeing as people like me are few and far between.”

“I’m not overly familiar with your kind,” Derek said. “Even my mother doubted there were any of you left.”

“I thought you said you hadn’t heard of them?” Stiles said.

“I didn’t think I had, but I remember Laura asking my mother about them when I was about six,” he said. “She said she’d never known of any in her lifetime.”

“Yeah well the legend says that only one can exist at any given time but I don’t think that’s been updated in maybe a thousand years, just translated really. Each generation will just die out at the same time.”

“Wait, what?” Stiles said. “What do you mean ‘die out’?”

“Come on Stiles, you can’t tell me you haven’t researched it,” he said.

“It’s on my list,” he said. “I’ve been kind of preoccupied lately… and you know, Allison hasn’t had a chance to look through the bestiary yet.”

Derek shook his head.

“Addonexus’ are born under Halley’s Comet, the legend says paired with a solar eclipse but as far as I understand it’s just so long as the comet is in the sky. The aging is faster than the myth too, thank god or I would still look about thirteen.”

“That still doesn’t explain the whole extinction thing,” Stiles said.

Derek shook his head, “not an extinction.”

“More like, the comet is the ashes from which more of us are born, but before something can be reborn… it has to die. Kind of like a wandering spirit that moves between hosts, every seventy-five years or so it needs someone new. This kind of power is centuries old, I’m just borrowing it for now.”

“So what you’re saying is… the next time Halley’s Comet appears in the sky…” Stiles said slowly. “You’ll die.”

“If I don’t die beforehand,” he said.

“Well… this just got a little depressing,” he said.

Kyle shrugged.

“I’m okay with it, plus I’ll be young my whole life,” he said. “Can’t really complain. Now get out of here and enjoy your night.”

“What, after that uplifting story?”

“Why don’t you cross the bay, go for dinner in the city?”

Stiles shook his head.

“I’m actually starting to feel better, but I still just kind of want to curl up in bed and relax, you know?” he said.

“I don’t blame you,” Kyle said with a grin over at Derek. “Just to make this moment awkward.”

Derek looked up with a sigh and Stiles laughed.

“And to think you didn’t even believe me about him,” he said.

“Okay,” Derek said with a nod, turning to walk out of the room.

“I’ll see you in a few weeks?” he said to Kyle, hoisting his bag onto the floor.

“I’m sure I’ll hear from you before then,” he said. “Go home, you’ve been dying to do it since you got here.”

Stiles grinned, following Derek out and tripping over his case as he did.

*

“You look really nervous,” Scott said as he pulled up on his bike outside his mother’s house.

Isaac climbed off the back and pulled the helmet off, running a hand through his wavy hair.

“I’m not nervous,” he said.

“Okay…” Scott said as they headed towards the door.

Melissa smiled as she opened the door to let them in.

“Do you have werewolf hearing now too?” Scott asked as she grabbed him and kissed his cheek.

“No, I just have a son with a motorcycle,” she said. “If you think I’m not always listening out for that thing you’ve got another thing coming.”

She grabbed Isaac and pulled him in for a hug too and Isaac felt the familiar warm feeling run through him. She always had a way of making him feel welcome.

“Dad’s not here yet then?” Scott said.

“I know, it’s such a shame isn’t it?” she said and Isaac grinned.

“Mom…” Scott grumbled.

“You know you could invite him over to your house for dinner,” she said. “Ever think about that?”

“And you know you’d just be texting me every half hour for updates,” he said.

“Not true,” she said as they made their way through to the kitchen. “I’d be texting Isaac.”

“Because I’d say more than ‘fine’,” Isaac said and Scott rolled his eyes. “Do you need help with anything?”

“You can cut up those onions over there, last thing I need is mascara all down my face,” she said.

“You put on mascara?” Scott asked and Isaac grinned to himself as he rolled up his sleeves.

“Hey!” she said, pointing to him with a wooden spoon. “Don’t go thinking I am getting dressed up.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said.

It wasn’t too long before there was a knock on the door and Scott got up to answer it.

Melissa sighed as he left the room and Isaac looked over.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

“I know it sounds crazy,” she said. “But I had only just got used to the idea that Scott’s dad wasn’t going to be in his life and now… now I have to sit across the table from him and make small talk as if he didn’t just walk out on us. I know, I know, better late than never I suppose.”

“Scott seems to think so,” Isaac said.

“Yeah well, if he didn’t want him here I’d have clocked him square in the nose by now,” she mumbled and Isaac grinned.

“Let me know if you want me to throw him out at any point,” he said. “I mean literally too.”

She let out a loud laugh.

“Oh you have no idea how much I would pay to see that, I can just imagine the look on his face,” she laughed again as Scott walked in looking less than impressed.

“Dad, you remember Isaac,” he said, shooting him a look.

“Sure, I mean you disappeared pretty quick last time we met but I remember,” he said, holding out his hand. “You’re taller than I thought you were, what are you, six foot?”

Isaac held his hand out for a quick shake.

“Nearly six two,” he said.

“Basketball guy?”

“Lacrosse,” he said as he went back to cutting the onions for Melissa.

He nodded, “right, that school’s always been pretty into their lacrosse.”

“Yeah well, I haven’t played since we left, so,” he shrugged and Scott gave him a subtle pinch on the arm as he walked to the fridge.

“Do you want to go sit out there, make yourself comfortable?” Melissa said to him.

“I’m making an effort here,” he said and Isaac could just sense the anger rolling off Melissa as she scoffed.

“That’s a good idea mom,” Scott said quickly. “Isaac, come on.”

“I’ll finish this then meet you out there,” he said as Scott handed his father a glass of water and gave both Isaac and Melissa a stern gaze as they walked out to the living room.

Melissa sighed and walked to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of wine.

“You want a glass?” she said and Isaac smiled.

“No,” he shook his head and she nodded with a wrinkle in her brow.

“Good,” she said, taking a drink and Isaac tried not to laugh.

*

Erica made her own way to the movies, needing some time to burn off the nervous energy, the events of the afternoon doing nothing of the sort. If anything they made it worse.

She settled on a skater dress and a blazer with a pair of boots, but she felt like no matter what she wore she wouldn’t feel ready. She waited out front and shook her head at how stupidly nervous she felt.

“You don’t get nervous anymore, what the hell is wrong with you,” she mumbled to herself.

She watched as Raj turned the corner, giving her a smile as he caught her eye.

“Hey,” he said with his smile growing. “You look really nice.”

“Thanks,” she said as she felt the flush in her cheeks.

“I could have picked you up you know,” he said.

“No it’s okay, I think I needed the walk,” she said. “So, what are we seeing?”

He shrugged.

“Anything you like, just let me know and I’ll go get it,” he said.

“No that’s okay, I’ve got it,” she said, “You paid for dinner last time so it’s only fair.”

“I don’t mind,” he said.

“No really, I’ll actually be able to spend the money I earned rather than mooching of Derek,” she said.

“Your… housemate? The one who’s dating your friend?” he said and Erica paused a minute, forgetting for a moment that not everyone understands the situation.

“Yeah… uh… he’s kind of like my brother but, not really… it’s a long story.”

“Well you’ll have to tell me some time,” he smiled.

She smiled back as they made their way over to the ticket counter, knowing that the time for that would probably not be in the near future.

*

Stiles lay snug in the hotel bed with Derek’s arm draped over his torso. They were watching a television show that Stiles had been bugging Derek about for weeks, if you could call it watching.

They’d missed half of the second episode and Stiles was sure Derek wasn’t really paying attention as his fingers traced soft circles against his stomach.

“You have to watch this bit,” he mumbled, turning his head on an awkward angle to look down at him. “Seriously you’ll miss the twist.”

“I can already guess what’s going to happen,” Derek said, eyes still closed.

“Derek I’m serious she’s about to wipe the courtroom floor with this guy and then go home rip shreds of her asshole husband,” he said.

“Thanks, now I don’t need to watch it,” Derek said and Stiles gave him a gentle smack.

“Come on, this show is iconic, how have you not seen it? You promised,” he said.

Derek sighed and sat himself up a little more, looking over at the screen.

“Oh well now you’re just doing it because I told you to,” Stiles grumbled.

“There’s no winning with you, is there?” he said.

Stiles smiled to himself before his phone buzzed on the bedside table. He reached over to grab it, shoulder bumping on Derek’s cheek as he did.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Bothering Kyle,” he said as his fingers texted rapidly before sending his message and putting the phone back down. “I have a lot of questions.”

“I’ll bet you do,” Derek said.

Stiles shuffled back in with him but in a few moments the phone was buzzing again and he was reaching over to grab it.

“Would you like to bring it to bed with us?” Derek asked and Stiles scoffed.

“What the phone or?” he said and Derek grabbed his hips to drag him back, hovering over him with his eyes narrowed playfully. “Relax big guy.”

“Is that something you want?” Derek asked, running his fingers through Stiles’ hair.

“I… what? I was just stirring you up,” he said.

“Were you?” Derek said and Stiles dropped his jaw without a word before closing it quickly again.

“I can’t even lie because of your stupid werewolf hearing,” he said. “What, you want to me to say I never _thought_ about it? I mean not with him just, generally speaking… in general.”

“There’s not much you haven’t thought about is there?” Derek grinned.

“You know lies are an important part of a healthy relationship,” Stiles said as Derek’s lips moved slowly to his throat, kissing and sucking gently.

“You don’t have to lie,” Derek said.

“Have you ever…I mean is that something you’ve done before?” he asked and Derek heard his heartbeat pick up a little.

He didn’t answer for a moment, just dragging his lips over Stiles’ skin until they were barely pressed against his earlobe.

“Would it bother you if it is?” his heartbeat picked up again and Derek held himself still over him, tilting his head to look at him and try to gauge his reaction.

“No,” he said.

Derek rolled his eyes gently.

“What? That’s not a lie!” he said. “And I totally don’t think about it a lot. But you know Erica could totally be into it.”

Derek narrowed his eyes and Stiles grinned.

“That was worth it just to see your face,” he said. “But seriously you think Lydia would be into it?”

Derek pinched him on the arm and Stiles laughed again.

“Okay, alright, that one hurt,” he said, pausing a moment like he was going to say something before closing it again and biting down on his lip.

“I know you want to ask me,” he said.

“You never want to talk about it,” Stiles said quickly.

“I still don’t,” he said.

“So is there any point asking?”

“ _Stiles_.”

“I want to know everything Derek,” he said. “You already know that.”

“You might not like everything,” he said.

“Either way, you can’t change it,” he said, fingers running slowly up and down Derek’s sides. “I kind of signed up for everything Derek, I knew you were a werewolf, and you knew I was an annoying, hyperactive, smart-mouthed ―”

“It’s not the same,” Derek said and Stiles let out a loud huff.

“Okay _Mr Grey_ ,” he teased. “Are you trying to tell me you have a secret sex dungeon or something for all your sordid kinks?”

Derek laughed, shaking his head because _of course_ Stiles went there. He watched his eyes get wider before his eyebrows shot up.

“Wait… do you? If you do you totally have to tell me because that’s just ―” he was cut off with Derek’s mouth against his and his teeth grazing his bottom lip.

“No, Stiles,” he said. “I don’t.”

“Oh so you’re just trying to distract me so I don’t ask any more questions, I get it,” he said with a grin, kissing him again. “Seriously Derek, you’re not going to scare me off with your past. Not sure if you’ve noticed but I don’t exactly scare easily. I just want to know you, everything.”

“So,” Derek said, letting his fingers drag slowly down over Stiles’ chest. “Ask.”

“I…” Stiles started, his mind suddenly blank. “I… anything?”

“You don’t have to ask now,” he said, taking Stiles’ wrists in his hands and gently lifting them above his head to pin down on the mattress. “But you can.”

“And… if there’s something I want you to try… _with_ me?” he asked.

“Tell me,” he said, catching Stiles’ lips again for a slow kiss. “Whatever you _want_ Stiles, you can have it. With or without me.”

Stiles’ brow furrowed and he squirmed a little under Derek’s grip.

“Don’t start this again Derek―”

“You want me to have those conversations with you, this comes under that,” he said, not letting his grip loosen. “What we have, part of it comes down to the trigger bond and no one really knows how far that bond affects humans.”

Stiles sighed again but didn’t interrupt.

“I don’t want you to think you can’t have what you want if that doesn’t include me, I’ve had years to figure out what I want. You’ve only just turned eighteen. You’ll regret what you don’t do more than you will the things you do,” he said.

“Well um, there is one thing I’ll regret,” Stiles said. “If I don’t… do it soon.”

This time Derek sighed and shook his head.

“You’re still not fully healed,” he said.

“So be gentle, don’t make me regret tonight,” he said.

“Stiles, I’m serious,” he said.

“I promise,” he said. “I promise I won't regret not doing anything, but I promise that anything I have with you is going to be enough that anything else won't even cross my mind, okay? I also promise that I’ll punch you in the nose if you bring this up again, this and the fact that I’m _bruised_.”

“I think I already promised to get rid of the cotton wool once they’re gone,” he said, pressing his hips into him gently.

“And you better keep that promise,” Stiles said, biting his lip. “Still, doesn’t help me now does it?”

“I thought you wanted to watch the show?” Derek said with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah, spoiler alert, she kicks ass and takes names now you want to get to making me forget mine?”

Derek shook his head, but he didn’t disappoint.

*

Scott sat to one end of the table looking from his mother to his father to Isaac who seemed to be doing the same.

Mr McCall wasn’t what Isaac had expected, he seemed genuinely interested. Looking in from the outside you never would have guessed he hadn’t been there for most of his life.

Well, if it hadn’t been for Melissa’s occasional irritated eyebrow raise.

“So you two met at school?” he asked, throwing down another forkful of spaghetti as he looked over at Isaac.

“Uh, yeah,” Isaac said. “We had a couple of mutual friends.”

“And did you always know you were…” he asked, waving his fork at him and giving him a look.

“Gay?” Isaac said, raising an eyebrow at the word that he seemed to be struggling with. “No.”

“Right, well, I suppose Scott had a girlfriend for a while there, what was her name? Allison?” he said and Scott looked over at Melissa.

“You told him about Allison?” he said.

“He asked me if I’d ever suspected you were gay,” she said. “Obviously I didn’t when you were dating Allison which is what I said.”

“Does it matter if I was dating Allison? I’m not anymore,” he said, kicking Isaac under the table as a way of telling him to wipe the smirk off his face. “But I mean we’re all friends still.”

“Yeah, your mom said you had a big group of friends now,” his father said. “I remember when it was just you and Stiles.”

“A lot has probably changed since then,” Isaac said.

Scott kicked him again.

“I suppose it has,” Mr McCall said, sharing a brief look with Isaac before they turned back to their food. “So, Isaac, what does your dad do?”

Scott winced a little but Isaac didn’t even flinch.

“He’s dead,” he said.

“Oh, sorry I uh…” Mr McCall said.

“It’s fine,” Isaac said. “My mom isn’t in the picture either, she left about eight years ago. Never heard from her since.”

Mr McCall nodded.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said sincerely.

“I’m not, not anymore,” he said.

There was a moment of awkward silence in the air and Isaac took a moment to look at Scott who swirled the spaghetti around his fork with a furrow in his brow and Isaac sighed.

“So you’re FBI?” he said, looking back up at Mr McCall. “What’s that like?”

As he started to talk about his work Isaac felt Scott’s hand brush his knee and give it a squeeze.

“ _Thanks_ ,” he said, just loud enough for Isaac’s ears to pick it up.

*

Erica and Raj walked into their movie, it felt like ages since she had actually been to the cinema and the popcorn tasted better than she remembered.

“Has it really been that long?” Raj asked as they took their seats.

“I had… mild epilepsy when I was a kid, kind of hard to know whether a movie was going to trigger it,” she said.

“Mild? Can it be mild?” he asked.

“I think I might have been misdiagnosed,” she said. “I don’t really have any issues with it anymore, I kind of… outgrew it?”

“Wow, I guess not a lot of people are as lucky as you,” he said. “I mean, that kind of sounded―”

“I know what you meant,” she chuckled. “I haven’t really done anything… _normal_ in a while.”

“What do you mean ‘normal’?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said quickly. “I just mean… I feel like there’s always drama and tonight feels… normal.”

“Could be famous last words,” he said with a grin.

She looked at him a moment, the way he was slowly making himself more comfortable around her, the way his nerves seemed to be receding and parts of himself were being revealed, layer by layer.

“I don’t think so,” she shook her head. “I feel like this is easy, the rest of the time I’m always expecting something to go wrong because something always does, company I keep.”

The cinema started to go dark and he smiled again, lowering his voice.

“You’ll have to tell me about it sometime,” he said.

She smiled, heart sinking a little as she thought about everything she couldn’t tell him.

“Definitely,” she said.

*

“I don’t get it,” Stiles said. “You are never surprised by the twists.”

Derek shook his head as Stiles skipped through the other titles for something else to watch.

“I’ve been around a while Stiles,” he said. “Things get predictable.”

“Yeah, yeah, I think you just don’t want to admit you like anything,” he said with a smirk over at him and Derek narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t say it,” he said.

“Oh what you’re a psychic sourwolf now?” he grinned and Derek groaned because he knew that was coming.

“I just know you,” he said.

“Yeah,” he said, lifting his arm to run his fingers over Derek’s side. “I guess you do.”

“Are you happy to be going home?” he asked, running his fingers gently over Stiles’ bruised ribs.

“Of course, I mean, it’s kind of a weird feeling,” he said. “I’ll have to go back soon to finish up this semester, then the break won’t be as long but I know why they do it.”

“Cora wants to meet you,” Derek said.

Stiles narrowed his eyes a little and sucked his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Does she? Or are you just telling me that?” he said.

“Which one have you been talking to about her?” he said.

“Erica,” Stiles said. “Though Isaac isn’t overly optimistic. You want me to show you the text Jackson sent me? I think she kicked his ass in some training thing, he didn’t really appreciate it.”

“She’s cautious, that’s all,” Derek said. “And so are they. Doesn’t help her to warm up to them when they don’t give her a chance. Trust me, she wants to meet you.”

“Really?” he said and Derek smiled.

“She might interrogate you a little,” he said. “Doesn’t mean she isn’t looking forward to it.”

Stiles laughed, “I like watching you talk about her. You get this kind of… look, I don’t know. It’s nice to see you… happy.”

“Are you saying I’m never happy otherwise?” he raised an eyebrow and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“It’s different, different kind of happy,” he said.

“I’m happy now,” he said, fingers running over Stiles’ cheek.

Stiles smirked, tongue wetting his bottom lip.

“I noticed.”

Derek shook his head, pushing Stiles over gently so he was lying on his back and he could climb over him, hips pressing down ever so slightly.

“You know what I mean,” he said.

“Yeah well… same goes for you,” he said, pulling Derek’s mouth down to his own.

Stiles let his tongue swipe over Derek’s lip, nails scraping over Derek’s skin as his hands braced his sides. He heard Derek sigh as he leant in to deepen the kiss and he shifted his legs to pull Derek closer.

“Stiles…” he murmured against his lips.

“You pull away from me I’m going to beat your little werewolf ass, you know that?” he said.

Derek chuckled, “I was actually going to ask you to move up the bed a little more.”

“Moving, yeah,” Stiles said, wriggling back quickly and making Derek smile before his lips were pressed against his neck.

He reached his hand between them and took Derek’s cock with a tight squeeze, making his teeth scrape against Stiles’ neck and urge his hips forward.

“Straight to the point,” Derek growled just below his ear before running his tongue along his earlobe.

“I know what I want,” he said back, fist pumping him a little faster.

“So do I,” Derek said, eyes shining blue as he reached to the side of the bed for the bottle they’d had out since earlier.

He shifted Stiles’ ankle over his shoulder and he barely needed to touch him for Stiles to feel the warmth spread through his belly. Derek’s fingers pushed into him gently and he dropped his head back onto the hotel sheets with a silent part in his lips.

He moved his hand to Derek’s shoulder and arched his back, feeling a shiver on his skin at the sound Derek made as he looked down at him.

“I’m good, I’m good,” he whispered. “Promise…”

“Stiles you―”

“I’ll tell you if I’m not, come _on_ Derek…”

Derek pulled his hand away, holding Stiles’ leg steady on his shoulder as he lined himself up with him. As he urged himself in slowly Stiles struggled to keep himself still, knowing that Derek liked to watch the pleasure wash over his features when they took it slow.

Stiles sucked his lip between his teeth, the tight stretch of Derek’s cock still making him sweat. As Derek closed the last few inches he leant in to kiss him and Stiles shifted his hips to close it even faster.

Derek let out a low moan against his mouth.

“You’re so impatient,” he said, eyes closed as Stiles tightened around him.

“God Derek, you say I talk too much…” he said and Derek chuckled.

“You do,” he said before pulling himself back and thrusting into him again.

Derek knew exactly how to work his hips, how Stiles’ body was craving him and how to give him exactly what he needed. He worked at it slowly at first, building up a rhythm that had Stiles clawing at his shoulders and pulling him in to nip at his earlobe and ask for more.

While Derek enjoyed being a tease and hearing Stiles whisper dirty things in his ear he could only hold out so long, even with his control.

Stiles had a way of making him push the boundaries but he was always in control of himself in one way or another. It was one of the things they fought about regularly, how Derek would never completely relinquish control.

He let Stiles’ leg drop from his shoulder and slipped his arm under the arch in his back as he thrust his hips forward. He pressed his palm to the small of his back and even with his mind beautifully distracted by the roll of Derek’s hips he could feel the pain from his bruises draining away.

“If you’re going to do that… _ohh_ …” Stiles said in a breath. “You can go a little harder.”

“Not sure what you mean,” Derek said.

Stiles pulled him in closer, pressing his lips to his neck and sucking in a quickly fading mark before sinking his teeth in and making Derek’s hips stutter.

“ _Stiles_ ,” he almost growled.

“Sit up?” he said.

“What?” Derek asked as Stiles pushed back against his chest.

Derek pulled himself away and Stiles grabbed him by the arm as he sat up, pulling him towards the headboard so he could sit back against it. Stiles climbed over him so he was straddling his hips and Derek helped him to line himself up again before he was sinking down on him.

Derek closed his eyes, hands on Stiles’ waist, still drawing out some of his pain as he guided him down slowly.

He leant his sweaty forehead against Derek’s and tangled his fingers in his hair.

“Okay, I’m clumsy and I’m not good at this so you’re going to have to help me out here,” he said and Derek laughed, his strong hands lifting his hips a little and pulling him back down.

“Stiles, it’s not possible for you to be bad at this,” he said.

“I am clumsy though, at least give me that,” he said with a laugh.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what you’re doing,” he said.

“I don’t,” he said. “I’m pretty much always winging it.”

“Trust me Stiles,” Derek said. “It’s working.”

Stiles wrapped his arm behind Derek’s head and Derek kept his hands firm on Stiles’ waist as he started to move his hips. This time it was Derek’s turn to drop his head back, Stiles being far less of a novice than he claimed to be.

The wooden head of the bed repeatedly struck the wall, the springs of the mattress squeaked under their shifting weight.

Their groans were not so loud but each time Stiles quickened his pace he would feel Derek’s fingers tighten momentarily on his side, still drawing pain from him. As he used his shoulders to keep himself balanced he let his eyes rake over him and admire the taut shape of his body.

He dragged his fingers down Derek’s chest, taking one of his nipples between them with a light pinch and heard the growl in Derek’s throat as he trust up into him a little faster, on the third stroke hitting that sensitive spot inside Stiles and making him cry out.

Derek’s grip tightened, holding him there as his cock brushed that spot over and over. Stiles lost all control over his movements, letting Derek take over and just moving with him. As Derek’s hand brushed against his length Stiles started to grind down into him, chasing his orgasm until he was making a white hot mess across Derek’s tight abs.

Derek only needed to give him a few more thrusts before he was coming inside him, burying his face in the crook of Stiles’ neck as he moaned in the sweet pleasure of it.

Stiles huffed out a long sigh, tilting his head to kiss Derek’s cheek.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that,” he said.

Derek smiled, lifting him up and rolling him onto his back before pulling away from him completely.

“I would hope not,” he said.

“How are you walking right now?” Stiles said, trying not to wince now that Derek’s hands weren’t drawing out his pain.

He hated to admit that Derek was right about his bruises.

“Would you like me to carry you?” he said and Stiles scoffed.

“You can be a real show off sometimes you know that?” he said. “I mean sure, werewolf stamina aside there’s a few good reasons for it, but still!”

Derek walked back around to the side of the bed where Stiles was now lying and leant in to kiss him.

“Was that a ‘no’?” he asked.

“Obviously not,” he said.

*

Mr McCall shook Isaac’s hand as he and Scott headed out for the night.

Melissa just raised an eyebrow at him and he nodded knowingly, walking to his car with a wave as he pulled away.

Isaac pulled the helmet over his head and smiled at Scott, his cheeks squashed against the sides of the helmet. Scott laughed a little.

“Thanks,” he said.

“What for?” Isaac shrugged.

“For not being a complete jerk to my dad,” he said as he swung his leg over the side of the bike.

“Did you really expect me to be?” he asked, climbing on behind him.

“Well… kind of, maybe…”

“Yeah okay, not going to lie it was pretty difficult.”

“I know…” he started, trailing off as he started the bike up. “Never mind.”

“What?” Isaac asked, poking him in the side a few times.

“I just, I know it must have brought up things you must feel about your mother,” he said.

Isaac hadn’t expected that. He didn’t say anything.

He wrapped his arms around Scott’s waist as he took off from the driveway and towards their small home.

He didn’t say anything on the ride and when they made it back he could feel Scott’s eyes on him as he unlocked the door.

“Out with it,” he said as they walked into their living room.

“What?” Scott said.

“Don’t ‘what’ me, you want me to talk more about my mother?” he said.

“No, I mean, yeah, if there’s something to tell.”

He shrugged, tracing his fingers over the pattern on the couch.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he said without looking up. “Do I wish she would show up back in my life? I used to, when I was a kid, after she first left. I used to sit at the window and wait for her car to pull up in the drive.”

“Really?” Scott said.

Isaac nodded.

“Until I was thirteen maybe,” he said. “I just… I really thought she’d be back.”

“I used to go sit with my mom on the couch and just lie across her lap,” Scott said. “She used to rub my head and I would tell her it was okay.”

“My dad was mostly… absent,” he said. “I would never let him catch me waiting. God, I used to cop an absolute earful if he did. That’s when the um… that’s when he started…”

Scott put his hand over Isaac’s, rubbing his thumb gently over the back of his hand.

“He would say it was to teach me what it really means to be lonely, or show me how to be strong or… anything he felt like at the time really,” he said. “By the time I was fifteen I was almost blaming her for what he would do to me. Like, if she hadn’t left it wouldn’t be happening.

“Now I just… I know it sounds harsh but I almost hope she is dead, that would hurt less than thinking about how she just left me to him and never came back.”

Scott reached up and pulled him into his arms, seeing his eyes well up even though he was trying to hide it.

Isaac closed his eyes and buried his head in Scott’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

“No,” he said. “Scott, you are the best thing that’s happened to me for a long time. It happened, it’s not going to change and I want to share my life with you so… that’s a part of my life. A shitty part but still.”

“I love you,” he said.

“You too,” he smiled. “You want to pick a movie?”

“Oh you’re going to let me pick?” he said.

“As long as it’s not stupid.”

Scott kissed him quickly.

“Just got get changed and I’ll put something on,” he said. “Quit complaining.”

*

Erica and Raj walked out of the movie, she laughed at a comment he made about the ending, somehow it had seemed a little out of place with the rest of the film.

“What?” he said with a grin. “I mean it, it was like they made a jump into a whole different universe.”

“You know I had my suspicions that you were a dork but didn’t quite realise your case was this severe,” she said. “I think you just referenced Next Generation _and_ Deep Space Nine.”

He smiled down at her.

“The fact that you know that says more about you than it does about me,” he said and her cheeks flushed.

“Well I was sort of a dork in middle school,” she said. “I think you would describe it as being a nerd before it was cool.”

“Pretty sure it’s only cool when someone else is into it,” he said. “Not sure anyone has ever thought I was cool because of my interest in Star Trek.”

“I do,” she smiled, reaching out to take his hand in hers.

She heard his heartbeat pick up in pace but he smiled down at her again and tightened his grip on her hand as they walked to the parking lot.

He was coming out of his shell, he didn’t stutter or blush nearly as much as he did at the coffee place, he got quite animated talking about his love for classic comic books, and every time he watched Erica tell him anything about herself his eyes lit up.

They climbed into his car and Raj asked where she needed to go.

She almost gave him the address to the loft but thought better of it. The living situation was already different to anything even resembling normal and to top it off it was a creepy place to call your home.

So she gave him the address of the next best place.

They pulled up outside the house and the light was on by the porch.

“So is this the friend’s boyfriend’s house?” Raj asked.

“Uh, no,” she said. “This is just a friend’s place I’m staying at. It can get pretty crowded at Derek’s.”

“Okay,” he said with a nod, sensing that she might not want to say a whole lot more on the subject. “I’ll um, I’ll walk you to the door.”

He got out quickly and walked around to the passenger side, opening the door for her and taking her hand as she climbed out. They walked up to the door and she could smell the nerves on him.

He started to do that awkward goodbye again but his hand was still in hers. She smiled as that familiar blush came back to his cheeks and then shook her head.

“Do something for me?” she said and he nodded. “Relax.”

Before he had a chance to ask what she meant she was leaning in to him.

Her fingers brushed the edge of his clean-shaven jaw-line as she put her lips to him for the first time. He froze for a moment before his hands found her waist and his mouth became pliant with hers.

She pressed her body against him, opening her mouth to let him in and feeling the warmth from his hands against her back as his arms slid around her to hold her there.

Erica found that at their source all kisses felt the same, that they were all a carefully – or not so in some cases – crafted mix of lips and teeth and tongue, between two people who for some reason or another decided that in that moment they wanted to kiss one another.

Or that one of them wanted to kiss the other.

It was the rest of it that made them different.

It was the smell of his cologne on his skin mixed with the desire that he was trying to hide. It was the respectful way he held his hands above her waist without the motion of dipping them lower. It was the slight scratch of his upper-lip even though he had made an obvious attempt to shave.

It felt like it had been a while since she had experienced a kiss like this one, and at the same time it felt like something was stopping her from losing herself in it.

She pulled her lips back and he was slowly opening his eyes, a smile playing at his lips.

“I was supposed to do that last time, wasn’t I?” he said and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah,” she said with a grin. “But only if you wanted to, I sort of jumped the gun.”

“I wanted to,” he said quickly. “I just, I don’t know, I couldn’t really tell if you wanted me to. I didn’t want to assume.”

“I wanted you to,” she said, leaning in again for a quick kiss. “Thanks for the ride.”

“I’ll text you?” he said, blushing again when he realised he was still holding her into him.

“Sounds good,” she said and he leant in to kiss her cheek before giving her a wave and heading back to his car.

Erica banged on the door a few times and watched him climb in before Isaac opened the door in a white T-shirt and boxer shorts.

“What are you doing here,” he said.

“Can I stay here tonight?” she asked as Raj waved back at her and both she and Isaac waved back.

“Don’t you have a loft you can go to?” he said and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“It’s a little crowded,” she said.

“Derek isn’t even back yet,” he said.

 “I didn’t really feel like having Raj drop me off there okay? It’s not exactly normal.”

“Neither is you showing up on my doorstep,” he said.

“Isaac!” she hissed. “Would you _please_ let me in?”

“Isaac just let her in!” Scott called from the living room.

She gave him a satisfied look and he rolled his eyes as he let her pass.

“Didn’t want to invite him in then,” he said.

“Bite me.”

“Why are you so grumpy?” Scott asked. “You weren’t like that ten minutes ago.”

“Does this look like a halfway house?” he said.

“Calm down _Derek_ ,” he teased and Isaac opened his mouth to rebut him but just nodded instead.

“Fair call,” he said, walking towards the bedroom.

“Ignore him, he’s still tense from dinner with my dad I guess,” he said. “How was your date?”

Erica smiled, taking a seat at their kitchen table.

“Really good.”

She talked about the movie a little and Isaac came out again, walking to the kitchen and pouring himself a cup of hot chocolate and bringing one over for Scott. He shook his head so Isaac pushed it towards Erica instead.

“I’m going to bed,” Scott said, getting up and kissing Isaac on the cheek. “Night Erica.”

Isaac sat down and looked over at her.

“You done with the attitude now?” she said.

“Okay, I get it, I apologise,” he said. “You want to tell me why you’re really here and not back at the loft?”

She looked over at him and they both eyed one another a moment, trying to work out what the other was thinking.

“No,” she said.

“Okay,” he said. “You want to tell me why you’re looking so unsure of yourself?”

“I’m not!” she said defensively.

“Erica.”

She sighed, looking down into the hot chocolate in front of her.

“I just, I’m not used to this is all,” she said. “He’s such a nice guy but I’m always going to be hiding something from him you know? I can’t just blurt out what I am, he’d think I was crazy.”

Isaac thought back to that night at Berkeley and looked down at his own mug.

“Do you think it would be easier if you were human?” he asked but she shook her head.

He bit down on his lip.

“No,” she said. “I _love_ being like this, this is who I am. I just wish it didn’t have to be a secret. The world isn’t ready for werewolves and all the rest of it though. I learned my lesson about wanting to be human.”

He looked up at her with a warning glare and she rolled her eyes, mouthing the word ‘relax’ at him.

They chatted a little and finished their drinks, as they got up Erica grabbed him for a hug and while he pretended to push her away he actually enjoyed it.

He headed to bed, pulling the covers back and snuggling up next to Scott, nuzzling into him and kissing the back of his neck.

He felt tired but he couldn’t quite shut off his mind. He kept coming back to that night on the Bay, the feel of being human, of being _normal_ for the first time in a very long time.

After about fifteen minutes of lying awake he heard the door open.

“Erica?” he said. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t want to be alone,” she said.

“Uh, why is that my problem?” he hissed.

“Shut up,” she said, walking over to the side of the bed. “Move over.”

“This is _my_ bed!”

“And?”

“And?” he huffed. “Scott’s not wearing pants.”

“Like I want to know.”

“You’re literally ―”

“Isaac just move over,” Scott grumbled, wriggling forward to give Isaac some space to move into.

“Fine,” he sighed, letting Erica climb in smugly beside him. “But I’m not spooning you.”

“Ditto,” she said.

“Both of you just _shut up_.”

*

The next morning Stiles and Derek packed up early and checked out of the hotel. Stiles felt a little weird at going home but he couldn’t wait to be back.

They had to drive separately, what with Stiles refusing to be away from the jeep for any lengthy period of time.

He sent a message to Scott when they were on their way.

Scott had woken up that morning to the sound of snoring from both Erica and Isaac. He chuckled as he quietly left the room.

They bickered like anything but they were loyal to a fault.

Once they were all up they decided to head over to the loft to wait for Stiles to come back. Erica told them that Boyd was back and she and Isaac squabbled because he hadn’t told him last night.

Scott just drowned them out.

Erica left first, letting Scott and Isaac have a few moments to themselves.

When she walked into the loft Boyd was sitting at the kitchen bench with Cora, who had miraculously reappeared.

“You’re back late,” Boyd said with a smile.

“Yeah I crashed and Scott and Isaac’s,” she said.

“The date went that badly?” he said with a raised eyebrow.

“It went great thank you very much,” she said as she walked over to sit beside him.

“Did he at least make a move this time?” Cora asked, pushing a cup of coffee towards her.

She eyed her carefully, locking her gaze for a moment as she tried to figure her out.

“I don’t think that’s really any of your business,” she said and Cora just shrugged.

“Everything okay?” Boyd asked.

“Fine,” she said. “Why?”

“I feel like I’m missing something,” he said.

“We’re still getting used to one another,” Cora said, her gaze catching Erica’s again.

“Something like that.”

When Isaac and Scott showed up they greeted Boyd with long hugs and open questions about his travels which he was happy to oblige. Erica liked listening to them too, even though he’d already told her a lot of them.

“Feels like finally everyone’s coming home,” Scott smiled.

Derek arrived before Stiles, somewhere back he had been stuck on the wrong side of the train tracks and fallen behind.

Even Derek had a hug for Boyd, until he’s pulled up at the loft he’d had no idea Boyd would be back. The moment he locked onto his scent he felt his mood get better, finally his pack was coming back together.

By the time Stiles got to the loft the place was on its way to crowded.

He’d lost track of how much he missed the place.

It was cold and sterile and from the outside it was kind of creepy looking but he could still feel all the memories that it held and he was suddenly remembering all the movie nights and the gaudy Christmas decorations and the pack gatherings they’d held there.

“I can’t believe I’m back here,” he said with a grin as Derek slipped his arm around his waist. “It feels like it’s been so long.”

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Erica said, wrapping her arms around him again as Derek tilted his head to keep her blonde hair out of his face.

“I guess this is where I jump in?” Cora said from the kitchen, walking out to finally meet him.

Erica pulled herself away and Stiles looked over at her, the smile slowly slipping from his lips.

“Stiles,” Derek said. “This is Cora.”

He looked her over, her face was already burned in his mind for a completely different reason.

“You,” he said. “You were in the university hall on the day of the bombing.”

They all looked from Stiles to Cora, who seemed to just narrow her eyes at him in confusion.

“I remember your face,” he said. “It was you.”


End file.
